James, Penelope and the Giant Peach
by judygumm
Summary: In this version of "James and the Giant Peach." I have always imagined what the movie would be like with a gypsy. It really completes the story. Penelope is inspired by Esmeralda from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." I will be updating to story to correct some errors and add two characters, a goat named Jaelle and a bug named Dragonfly. Complete.
1. The Beginning

**Author's note: Here is my very first story inspired by "James, Dana and the Giant Peach" "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" I thought of making my character a gypsy with dancing and singing from the 1956 version of "the Hunchback of Notre Dame" even the Disney Version and the 1939 version. This movie takes place somewhere in the 1940's. I do not own "James and the Giant Peach" or "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" the character I only own is Penelope. Now I am once again inspired by, CentiSpiderFanGirl1, to rewrite my story in the beginning of the movie. Enjoy! I will be rewriting this story to add two characters, Jaelle; Penelope's goat, and Dragonfly from the story with Marcy and Butterfly.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Beginning

This is James Henry Trotter. He lived with his mother, father and new older sister, Penelope Esmeralda Trotter, in a cozy little house by the sea.

On September 4, 1947, a little boy around seven years old is standing on the beach near his house. He picks up some rocks and threw them into the water of the salty Atlantic Ocean. He is slender with a round face, fair skin, short brown hair and big brown eyes. He is wearing a yellow collared shirt with wrist length sleeves, a light blue vest, knee length tan shorts with a black belt, knee length white socks and brown shoes.

As James threw another rock, his father appeared behind him and grabbed him and held him close, "Hey, I got ya!" said Mr. Trotter and it caused James to laugh. Mr. Trotter has short brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and a round face. He wore a brown hat, an aquamarine long sleeved shirt, light grey pants, brown shoes, and he wore a watch on his right wrist.

"Happy Birthday, darling," a beautiful woman, none other than James' mother appeared. She wore a pale blue short sleeved, dress with buttons in the front, a pink headband on her head, a pink apron, and brown high heels.

Like her husband and son, she too had fair skin, brown eyes, and a round face. She carried a cake with vanilla frosting with seven lit up candles, six were blue and in the center was a boy riding on a grasshopper.

"Now quickly, blow them out before the wind does," said Mrs. Trotter, she looked around and called, "Penelope! Where are you sweetheart?"

"Here I am, Mama!" a thirteen-year-old petite and slender girl ran down a path towards her adopted family along with a white and grey goat trotting along side her named Jaelle. This girl is called Penelope. Unlike the Trotters, she has tan skin, emerald green eyes, and an oval face with long wavy black hair that trembles to her waist. She wore a navy blue dress, white sandals and a dark blue headband in her hair.

She carried a bouquet of flowers she picked from a meadow. Penelope is a gypsy, her parents were both gypsies and they are not related to the Trotters. Penelope's family, used to travel around the country in England looking for a place to stay with their caravan. No one would take them in, but Mr. and Mrs. Trotter were both kind enough to allow them stay on their land and provided them food, clothing, and healthcare and soon after, both of the families became good friends. When Penelope was eleven, her parents both died of a mysterious illness caused by a poison.

Since Penelope had no other family, the Trotters adopted Penelope and raised her as their own daughter. They also treated her and Jaelle with kindness and love just as they did with their son, James. Penelope happily became an older sister to James.

"Make a wish first," said Mr. Trotter with encouragement as Mrs. Trotter placed the cake on a red and white checkered tablecloth filled with many gifts that were for James.

James closed his eyes and thought of a wish. After a moment, James blew out the candles.

Penelope grinned, "Happy Birthday James. Here is a bouquet for you." She handed the flowers to her adopted little brother and James took it and smiled at Penelope.

"Thanks Penelope."

Jaelle bleated and James petted her head.

_It was a wonderful life. They had each other, and they had their dreams_.

The Trotter family laid themselves on an orange and white striped blanket. Mr. Trotter, James, Jaelle, Penelope, and Mrs. Trotter were looking at the clouds in the sky.

James spotted something in the sky and pointed at it, "Look! That cloud looks like a camel." A cloud appeared in the shape of a camel with two humps on its' back.

"And that one over there!" said Penelope as she spotted another cloud that looked like a train. "It looks exactly like a train engine."

"Can you two see the tallest building in the world?" Asked Mr. Trotter.

James and Penelope looked at the sky, and spotted a cloud and it looked like a building and it did not stand up straight.

Confused, James said, "I can't find it."

"Hmmm, hm, hm, hm, neither can I," said Penelope.

Mrs. Trotter smiled at her children and said gently, "Try looking at it another way."

James and Penelope both sat up and tipped their heads to the right. The cloud looked tall to their eyes and it was the famous building in New York City, the Empire State Building.

"I see it!" cried James.

"So can I!" cried Penelope.

"That's where we're going," said Mr. Trotter as he pulled out a small travel book and it has the words _New York _in blue with the Empire State Building in the front. "On a great ship that will take us across the ocean, and we'll go right on top of that building."

"The four of us?" Asked James as his eyes widened.

"Especially Jaelle?" asked Penelope.

"The four of us, even Jaelle on top of the world," said Mr. Trotter.

"Are there any kids there like me?" Asked James filled with excitement.

"And girls like me too?" Asked Penelope filled with happiness.

Mr. Trotter opened the travel book, and showed some pictures of New York. "Hundreds of them. It's a wonderful place, James and Penelope," said Mr. Trotter. "A city where dreams come true."

Mr. Trotter gave the travel book to James and he and Penelope looked into it and they both have bigger grins on their faces as they stared into the pictures. Jaelle bleated happily.

_Then one day, a terrible thing happened._

James, Penelope, and Jaelle looked up at the sky and they were both alone. Mr. and Mrs. Trotter both vanished. The sky turned black and lightning, wind and thunder appeared. It wasn't just any regular storm.

_An angry rhinoceros appeared out of nowhere, and gobbled up his poor mother and father. Their troubles, if they had any at all, were over in thirty-five seconds flat._

The children looked at the sky and James felt scared about losing his mother and father. Penelope felt scared about losing her second parents to the Rhino, as her real parents died of the mysterious illness. Jaelle was about to charge at the Rhino, but Penelope held her back.

All of a sudden the rhino appeared from the storm clouds and it had yellow glowing beady eyes, and with a roar vanished.

_But James's and Penelope's troubles were just beginning._

James woke up with a start on his bed, he sat up and breathed, he wore an old white nightshirt with blue stripes. Next to him in another bed was Penelope, who sat up and rubbed her green eyes, and trembled from a nightmare. Jaelle woke up and bleated in fear.

Penelope wore an old lavender nightdress with wrist length sleeves with stitches and patches on the skirt. It has been nine months since James and Penelope lost their parents, Penelope had turned fourteen in February. Ever since that fateful day, both of them had nightmares about the Rhino and the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Trotter.

James held on to his beloved travel book, he gasped and placed it underneath his limp pillow just in the nick of time when James's aunts, his and Penelope's new legal guardians barged in without knocking.

_For now, the two and the goat live here, with Aunt Sponge…_

"Get up! You lazy little bugs!" snapped Aunt Sponge, who came in first, she was fat and cruel, and she is wearing a rose bathrobe, with bright pink fur in the center. She wore slippers on her feet. She had three warts on her face, one on the left side of her face near her ear, one underneath her right nostril, and one underneath her right eye. She even wore a pale blue cloth that completely covered her head. She had pale skin and beady brown eyes.

After finishing her insult to the children, her sister Aunt Spiker came in. Aunt Spiker has brown eyes and pale skin like Aunt Sponge. Instead of being fat like her sister, Aunt Spiker is very thin, tall, and very cruel. She wore a Brunswick green bathrobe, slippers, and a pale blue cloth with a huge bow in the center on her head.

_And Aunt Spiker._

"Both of you have already wasted four minutes of daylight!" Aunt Spiker warned as she pointed to her watch.

The children were both terrified as they watched their guardians. Penelope wrapped her arms around James and Jaelle to keep them safe. After losing her second parents, Penelope had no choice but to protect James. After the aunts adopted James, they knew that Penelope would be of good use to them as she could help James out with the chores faster. With Penelope around, they treated her and James with cruelty and disrespect. Even Jaelle would charge and hit them in the guts, only for the goat to get kicked.

One time when Sponge and Spiker visited the Trotters, the women insulted Penelope's parents and called them and Penelope filthy rats. It was such a horrible insult to them that it made Penelope's parents curse the aunts and warned them that bad things they do would haunt them. The aunts never took them seriously and they hate gypsies.

"Look at the two and the goat," Aunt Spiker teased them. "Lollygagging in dreamland, when there's so much work to do!" Her smile turned into a frown when she said about work.

James and Penelope keep their mouths shut and knew that if they did talk back and disagree with Sponge and Spiker, they would get severely beaten.

"You two have weeds to pull, wood to chop," warned Aunt Sponge.

The women shouted at them together, "Work, work, work, work, work!"


	2. My Name is James

Chapter 2: My Name is James

After getting dressed, James came out pushing a wheelbarrow filled with tools. He is wearing a big forest green shirt, a white blouse with short sleeves underneath, deep blue shorts, and brownish-black shoes. Penelope followed James and helped him push the wheelbarrow. She wore a dirty white shirt with elbow length sleeves, a light brown bodice with blue lacing in the front, a long red skirt with patches and stitches, a white apron, brown cloth shoes and a red head bandana in her hair. Jaelle flowed them behind holding a sack in her mouth.

They started to rake the leaves underneath an ancient peach tree. The peach tree used to give peaches and there were many insects underneath piles of leaves.

After finishing the first chore, they went to the well, and Penelope pulled up a bucket of water so James could recover his strength. Next, James and Penelope then polished Sponge and Spiker's antique car with worn pieces of cloth to make sure every spot is clean. Jaelle even brushed the dust off with her fur.

After polishing the car, James and Penelope did the laundry. Penelope washed Sponge and Spiker's clothes in warm soapy water and James washed the soap off the clothes in water and hung them on the clothesline.

After that, the two painted the aunts' deck chairs white. Before painting, James took off his green shirt and the two had to be careful to cover a missed spot with paint.

After the aunts approved it, they went into the house and James used a feather duster and dusted the house and didn't miss a spot. Penelope scrubbed the floor in the kitchen with a brush from a soapy bucket and made sure she didn't miss a spot on the floor. Jaelle also helped dried the floor with Penelope to get her an extra push.

James, Penelope, and Jaelle went outside and placed the trash, including paper, broken glass bottles, and pieces of wood in a small bucket. After that, James and Penelope grabbed their axes and started to chop the wood for the fire, while Jaelle was looking for grass to eat.

As they chopped the wood, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker were lazily sitting on their deck chairs, with a pitcher filled with lemonade and they were both enjoying their drinks and admired themselves. The aunts are wearing white clothes with big sun hats and dark sunglasses and they both have curled up auburn hair.

A small white butterfly flew down from the sky and landed on the white tablecloth near the lemonade and Spiker immediately swatted it and killed it. She looked at the swatter with the dead butterfly and said in a nasty tone, "Eww. Wouldn't want one of those nesting in your knickers." After she threw the dead butterfly away, she looked at the swatter with a face filled with revulsion.

Sponge was minding her own business by looking at herself in a mirror and sighed in content, "I look and smell…" She inhaled for a moment. "I do declare, as lovely as a rose. Just feast your eyes upon my face!" She twisted her body to her sister and said with a grin on her face and removed her sunglasses. "Observe my shapely nose."

Spiker was more annoyed and took a drink of her lemonade to ignore her sister's comments.

"Behold my heavenly, silky locks. And if I take off both my socks, you'll see my dainty toes." She cracked up as she removed her stockings and revealed her pedicured toe nails covered in red nail polish.

Aunt Spiker played a joke on her sister, "But don't forget my dearest Sponge," she said as she grabbed the swatter and slapped it on Sponge's belly. "How much your tummy shows!"

Spiker giggled as Sponge gasped in embarrassment.

* * *

After finishing the wood, James sat on the ground and took out his travel book and looked into destination of the map and remembered what his father told him about the city made him smiled. Jaelle stood and ate grass near by.

Penelope was behind James and looked into the travel book and she and James looked at the Atlantic Ocean and Penelope thought to herself, _"If only we could leave…"_

"You lazy bugs!" Snapped Sponge.

James and Penelope snapped back into reality and James hid the travel book at the rear of his back. The two turned to face their guardians.

"Who told you miserable ticks to stop working?" Asked Aunt Sponge.

"James and I finished the wood, mistress," replied Penelope.

As James hid the travel book behind his back, Aunt Spiker came behind James and grabbed the travel book.

"A travel book?" said Spiker angrily. "How dare you two even dream of leaving?"

"This is the only home you brats will ever have," said Aunt Sponge as she grabbed James and Aunt Spiker grabbed Penelope. She also held Jaelle by the horns.

"As for you gypsy…" said Spiker holding on to Penelope, "No one would accept you into a home for you and your dead parents are stupid, filthy and impure rats! Your people should all be dead a long time ago, so we don't have to deal with them looking for homes and the stupid stuff they do anymore. In fact gypsies don't do well inside stone walls and Europe. No one else would tolerate worthless little nothings like you," Aunt Spiker replied as her red manicured nails dug deep into the flesh of Penelope's arm.

Penelope wished she could break free of Spiker and spit into her face and punch Sponge in the nose. Then she, Jaelle and James could run and leave this place for good. She held on to the travel book and gave it to Sponge. Jaelle struggled to break free from Spiker and wished she could kick them.

"Where did you two get this?" Asked Sponge coldly and she looked at it, "Where?"

"Father gave it to me and Penelope," said James.

"He promised us to take us to New York City with Mama," said Penelope.

"Stupid, foolish man!" Grumbled Spiker as she pointed at James's and Penelope's chests and shoved them back on the rocks and she threw Jaelle near them.

"Foolish man, always dreaming! That's what got him killed!" Snapped Sponge.

"_And_ your mother," warned Spiker.

"Had his head in the clouds instead of looking where he was going!" Replied Sponge.

"He never even saw that Rhino coming," added Spiker.

"That Rhino!" Sponge grinned at them evilly. Using the Rhino to taunt James and Penelope.

"And that beast will get both of you and that goat," said Aunt Spiker as she pointed at James and Penelope. "If you two don't behave."

"Now get those stupid dreams out of your two heads…," Sponge said as she shredded the travel book into bits.

"And get back to work!" Snapped the sisters as they went back to their deck chairs.

James and Penelope watched the pieces of the travel book got blown away by the breeze and at that moment, their hearts dropped.

* * *

At twilight, Sponge and Spiker were dressed in their best clothes as if they were very wealthy, sitting at their table and eating their dinner with golden lit-up candles and the women were sipping their wine. A man on a radio was singing, as the sisters ate, Spiker wore a black dress with a black hat and a black coat. Sponge is dressed in a black dress with a gold coat, black earrings, a black necklace, and a black hat with a white flower and a white feather.

"Careful Spongie," said Spiker. "Wouldn't want to ruin that girlish figure."

She laughed as Sponge shot back at her sister as she shoved another pile of food into her mouth, "Oh, shut up!"

James, Penelope, and Jaelle walked back into the kitchen, finished with their chores and both of them were very tired and they hoped that the aunts would give them something to eat.

"Yes?" Asked Spiker turning her attention to James, Penelope, and Jaelle.

"We finished all the chores," said James.

"We were hoping if you have…" said Penelope.

"What a coincidence!" said Sponge as she cracked up. "We finished all of the dinner!"

"Oh Sponge! You're such a tease!" Said Spiker as she smiled. "There's something special waiting for both of you in the oven."

James and Penelope grinned at Spiker as a sign of thanks, the two walked over to the oven and they hoped the food would be better.

Penelope opened the oven and pulled out a tray with two rotten fish heads with a fly circling around them. James grunted in disgust.

"Ick!' said Penelope.

After Sponge swallowed her drop of wine, and shrugged her shoulders, "Oh do let me guess: They're not good enough for them."

Aunt Spiker frowned, "What do you think this is? Buckingham Palace?"

James and Penelope were more grossed out as they muttered, "Yuck!" James noticed a bag of chips.

"Get out of our sight!" yelled Sponge. James grabbed the chips and hid them behind his back. When he, Penelope, and Jaelle stopped at the front of the stairs and Sponge snapped at them, "Go on!"

James, Penelope, and Jaelle ran up the stairs and Sponge looked at them and let out a burp and continued her meal.

* * *

The two friends and the goat reached the attic, and it was their bedroom. The bedroom is always freezing. They wished for a better bedroom. They had no choice but to accept it. James and Penelope sat on Penelope's bed and ate the remaining chips. Penelope picked up some fresh grass from the field when her aunts weren't looking and she fed them to Jaelle.

"I hate this place!" Penelope said as she turned to James, "James I wish we weren't in this place. It's my fault we're living here and I don't have enough strength to protect you."

James hugged Penelope.

"This isn't your fault Penelope, besides you are the only friend I have in my life no matter what happens, we'll always be together."

He kissed Penelope on the cheek. Jaelle laid her head on Penelope's lap and the gypsy girl stroked her goat.

"Thank you," said Penelope as she smiled.

After finishing the chips, James tore it apart and licked the inside. James and Penelope looked at the window and noticed a spider web with a small spider with black and white stripes.

"Hello there!" said James as the spider crawled down to his palm. "Where did you come from? You know you shouldn't build your web up here in the window. Sponge and Spiker might see you and they hate spiders."

"They also hate other insects," said Penelope as James got down from the chair.

"We'll be your friends, though," James smiled and placed the spider on the chair.

_"My name is James, that's what mother called me."_

"_My name is Penelope, that's what Papa called me," _sang Penelope.

"_My name is James, so it's always been."_ He removed a loose wooden board and it contained a rubber band ball, a basket, and a ball. He pulled out a tin box containing old crayons, a green toy car and his birthday candle with a boy riding a grasshopper.

James dumped the crayons out and started to draw on the paper of the bag and Penelope went to her old bed and pulled out a silver pouch her mother gave her and she sat next to the chair behind James and she sang with him.

_"Sometimes I forget, _

_When I'm lonely or afraid,_

_Then I'll go inside my head, _

_And look f__or James and Penelope."_

"Here's something I've never shown anyone." James placed his candle on the chair for the spider to look at.

"Here's my dagger my real father gave to me before he went to Heaven."

Penelope pulled out a dagger; it had a brown leather handle encrusted with emeralds, a curved silver blade, the sides of the golden tang has two rubies on each sides of the curved sides and the pommel is gold.

Jaelle got her nose near the spider and sniffed it, when the spider moved Jaelle jumped back.

James colored in his drawing of buildings on the paper and the two friends sang.

_"There's a city that we've dreamed of,_

_Very far from here,_

_Very, very, far away from here, _

_Very, far away. _

_There are people in the city_

_And they're kind to us._

_ But it's very, very far away you know, _

_Very far."_

James drew himself carrying the spider and Penelope carrying Jaelle. They drawing showed both of them have wings and they were flying away from Sponge and Spiker and their prison to where the people are waiting for them in New York.

After James folded the picture into the shape of a lantern and he stood up.

_"They'll say James, _

_James, _

_James, _

_How are ya? _

_Isn't it a lovely day?"_

He blew into it as Penelope sang_, _

_"They'll say Penelope,_

_Penelope, _

_Penelope, _

_How are you? _

_Is this a wonderful day?"_

"James, James, James," James kept singing his name.

_"Penelope, Penelope, Penelope," _Penelope sang.

_"We're so glad you came here, _

_Where we are. _

_From so very, very, very far."_

The spider crawled onto Penelope's hands and she placed the spider back on the web. James lit his beloved candle and attached it to the lantern and released it and let it flew into the breeze and James and Penelope finished their song. Jaelle climbed up to watch the lantern.

"_My name is James, James, James."_

"_My name is Penelope, Penelope, Penelope."_

"Good night, pleasant dreams," James said to the spider.

"Good night my friend," Penelope spoke to the spider. "Good night James."

Penelope kissed her brother on the forehead.

"Good night Penelope," said James as he hugged his sister and kissed her cheek.

"Good night Jaelle," Penelope said as she petted her goat, James petted the goat too.


	3. The Start of Their Adventure

Chapter 3: The Start of Their Adventure

"Ahhh!" A scream woke up James, Penelope and Jaelle. It was none other than Aunt Spiker. "Spider! Vermin!"

"Oh, Beast!" James and Penelope gasped as they saw Spiker swatting the spider with her swatter.

"No wait! I'll get! I'll get it!" Penelope cried as she and James quickly got out of their beds in their nightclothes and Penelope climbed up the chair and grabbed the spider. Jaelle bit onto Spiker's robe and tried to drag her away, only to rip it.

Penelope leaped off the chair and Spiker kept hitting James and Penelope with the swatter and screamed at them, "Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

Sponge rushed in with a can of bug spray and cried, "Where is it? Where is it?"

Penelope handed the spider over to James. Then he and Penelope both got smacked in their faces and bumped into Sponge and they and Sponge toppled down the stairs. Jaelle chased after them. When they reached the bottom James opened his hands and noticed that the spider is gone.

"Where'd it go?" Penelope cried. She and James looked at Sponge and saw the spider crawling on her face, Sponge shrieked and cried, "Get It! Get it!"

Just as James could grabbed the spider, Spiker appeared with her swatter and heard her sister yell, "Kill it! Get it!"

The spider leaped off of Sponge's face just in the nick of time as Spiker slapped Sponge with her swatter.

James grabbed the spider and he, Penelope, and Jaelle ran out of the house to hide the spider.

Spiker removed the swatter off of Sponge and Sponge yelled at Spiker, "You hit me in the face! You hit me in the face!"

"Oh, do shut up!" Snapped Spiker.

James, Penelope, and Jaelle ran down the rocky stairs and James carried the spider in his hands as he, Penelope, and Jaelle reached an old stonewall and James laid down his hands.

"Go on, get out of here! Get as far away from this place as you possibly can!" James said to the spider as it crawled off his hands and went through the hole.

"Oh, I wish we could," Penelope said and stood behind James and held his hand into her own and sighed.

"What's stopping you?" a deep voice said and they looked up and spotted a strange older man seated on the old stonewall. He had long black hair and he is dressed in very dark clothes, with hundreds of clocks dangling from his jacket, and wore grey gloves without a sheath to warm his fingers. Jaelle glared at him and was about to charge at him, only for Penelope to hold the goat back. "Oh don't be frightened, James. I mean you, Penelope, and Jaelle no harm."

"How do you know my name and Penelope's name?" asked James.

"I know more than just your name and Penelope's name and Jaelle," The old man grinned, giggled. "What would you both say if I were to tell you that the answer for all your troubles is right here in this bag?"

He took out a wrinkled paper bag from behind his back and they were both surprised. It was the lantern they made last night. How in the world did he get it back?

"Hey, that's our-" James cried.

"Of course it is!" The old man replied earnestly. "Go on James, Penelope, and Jaelle have a look."

James and Penelope looked inside and there is a whole bunch of green crystal-like creatures squirming around in the bag and squeaked like mice.

"There's more magic in them things than in all the rest of the world put together," replied the old man.

"But… what are they?" James asked.

"Crocodile tongues."

"Tongues?" Penelope asked curiously.

"Bah?" Jaelle was confused.

"One thousand long, slimy crocodile tongues, boiled in the skull of a dead witch for twenty days and twenty nights," said the old man. "Add the fingers of a young monkey, the gizzard of a pig, the beak of a parrot and three spoonfuls of sugar. Stew for a week, and then let the moon…" He closed his left and when he opened it, it was completely white causing James and Penelope to gasp as he finished with, "Do the rest." He blinked his eye and it returned to normal. "Have 'em, and marvelous things will happen… and marvelous things will happen; things you two even never dreamt of."

"What do you mean?" Penelope asked.

"Like what?" James asked.

"Well, like… you two will never be miserable again. And you are miserable, aren't you James and Penelope."

"Yes," Penelope said as James and Jaelle nodded.

"Both of you weren't meant to be, you know and that place you are dreaming of is not as far away as you think," the mysterious man slammed his fist into the stonewall and a stone flew out and the two friends looked in and saw New York City with the Empire State Building in the middle on the edge of the sea.

"New York City!" James and Penelope exclaimed at the same time.

"And it'll be much closer once you two take the first step," The old man said as he appeared at the other side of the hole.

"But how?" Asked Penelope.

"This doesn't make any sense," James said as he frowned.

"Not up here it doesn't," the mysterious man said to them as his finger touched his head, "The answers are in here," the old man's pointer finger touched Penelope's heart and when he touched James's heart he said, "And the magic is in here."

He appeared to their sides and held out the bag, "So kids? What'll it be?"

James, Penelope, and Jaelle looked at each other and turned to the man and nodded.

"It's a deal," Penelope said.

As James took the bag, the old man held his wrist and looked at James and Penelope with sharp eyes.

"Now listen to me James and Penelope. Don't let them get away, because if they do, they'll work their magic on whoever or whatever they meet first. Understand?" James and Penelope nodded "Good." With a gush of the mist and wind, the mysterious man vanished.

* * *

"What's going on out here?" Yelled Aunt Spiker.

"We better head back," said Penelope. The children and Jaelle both started to run back to the house and James tripped over a step. Penelope tripped and fell down next to him and the crocodile tongues were released from the bag and they were going underground.

James, Penelope, and Jaelle tried to catch them but them went deep into the ground underneath the old peach tree.

"Uuh! Oh! No, wait!" Cried Penelope.

When Penelope reached for one tongue, it disappeared into the ground.

"Wait! No! No, wait!" Cried James.

"Wait just a-" Cried James as he tried to grab one.

"Don't leave!" Cried Penelope.

"Wait!" Cried James.

They were still on their knees as Sponge and Spiker appeared in front of them and they were dressed in their nightgowns and robes.

"There they are," said Sponge. "Get up you two little worms! We sent you out here to kill a spider!"

"Not to laze about," Yelled Aunt Spiker.

"For your information," Penelope said angrily. "We were not lazing about."

"Penelope, Jaelle, and I tripped," said James.

"How dare you two disagree with us!" Yelled Aunt Sponge.

"Beat the two Sponge," Spiker turned to Sponge.

Spiker grabbed James and Penelope and both of them flinched as Sponge raised both of her hands to hit them. But she dropped her hands and complained as she yawned, "It's too early."

"Well, that makes you two the luckiest kids and goat alive," Spiker said sarcastically as she looked at James and Penelope. "Now come inside both of you and get dressed." Spiker grabbed James and Penelope by the wrists and pulled them into the house with Jaelle following them.

As Sponge kept yawning she noticed something on the peach tree.

"Spiker! Look! A peach!"

"A what?" Spiker said not believing her sister.

"A peach! There on the branch!" James, Penelope, and Jaelle turned around to see if Sponge is telling a joke and their eyes widened as they saw a beautiful new rosy peach.

"Why, that old tree's never had so much as a blossom on it. Let alone a-" Spiker turned around and saw the peach and said with amazement, "Well I'll be blowed! There really is a peach there! A nice big one too."

Spiker went over to where Sponge was standing and grasped the branches and both of them do not have the strength to climb the peach tree.

"How can we get it?" Asked Spiker. She and Sponge looked at each other and said, "The boy and the gypsy girl!"

Sponge walked over to James and Penelope and led them to the tree as she smiled, "Now you be a good little boy and young gypsy girl and climb up and get that peach for you dear aunties."

"Can we eat it?" Asked James as he climbed on Sponge's shoulders.

"May we?" Asked Penelope.

"Of course we can. We'll share it!" Snickered Sponge. "Me and you Aunt Spiker! Now start climbing."

Penelope felt mad, she ignored Sponge and got on her shoulders and James got on top of Penelope's shoulders.

Spiker's eyes widened as she stared at the peach. "Wait!"

"What? What, what?" Asked Sponge

Spiker stared at the peach, "It's… it's growing."

"The boy and the gypsy girl?" Asked Sponge.

"No the peach you idiot!" Spiker glared at her sister. "Look!"

The peach started to grow like a ball!

Penelope wondered, "It must be the crocodile tongues that made it grow!"

"Oh, you two come down!" Sponge cried as she warned James and Penelope, as they were both near the peach.

"But Penelope and I won't get hurt!" said James as he hand was close to the peach.

"Climb down!" Cried Sponge as she pulled James and Penelope down from the tree and the two and backed up as they watched the peach grow and grow gigantic.

"What a peach. What a peach!" Cried Spiker as the peach kept getting bigger.

James and Penelope watched with astonished eyes as the peach was growing bigger every second. Jaelle was surprised too to see a sight.

"Look, Spiker, it's still growing!" Sponge cried as she stared at the peach.

"I'm not blind you dolt," snapped Spiker. "I can see it for myself."

Both of them said. "Ohh!"

"Look at it go! It's a miracle," cried Spiker

"It's coming down! Stand back!" Cried Sponge as she whimpered like a dog.

James, Penelope, Jaelle, Sponge and Spiker still stared at the peach. After touching the ground, it stopped growing and became the size of a house.

"Oh, my heavens! My…" Sponge and Spiker's eyes were widened as they watched the beautiful peach.

"Marvelous things will happen, just like he said," said James.

"You're right James! Even the old man was right about them after all!"

"Shut up, you little grubs," Spiker snapped. "This has nothing to do with you, so just keep away from it."

James frowned at her as Penelope glared at them as she folded her arms.

"Oh!" Sponge sniffed the peach. "Can you smell that, Spikey? It smells delicious."

Sponge was about to take a bite of the peach and then Spiker's arm blocked Sponge and said, "No!" Spiker smiled to Sponge. "It smells like… money!"

* * *

Two carpenters finished building a sign around many people came a tall wooden fence surrounding the peach so no one would eat the peach and get close to it.

"Roll up, roll up. See the giant peach! The Eighth Wonder of the World, have your money ready, ladies and gentlemen. Chance of a lifetime. Ten bob only!" Aunt Sponge shouted through a megaphone to a huge line of people and all of them were eager to see the peach. A group of children were holding hands and they were dancing around a phonograph. Sponge and Spiker were dressed in beige trench coats with crimson hats underneath their coats, golden earrings and had fancy green hats with red woven beams dangling in front of the hats.

As the excitement was going on, James and Penelope were both looking out of the window in their room and tears were rolling down their cheeks, Jaelle was lying down in boredom, because Sponge and Spiker locked them in their room so they wouldn't get in their way. James wanted to play with the children and Penelope wanted to sing, dance, and tell fortunes and palm read the people.

"No peeking at the peach! Have your money ready, ladies and gentlemen," called Sponge.

"In you go," Said Spiker as she collected a ticket. A little girl clothed in a green dress asked them, "Can we touch it?"

"Touch it?" Asked Spiker as she glared at them. "You want to touch it?"

"Huh! She'll be wanting to taste it next," said Sponge.

"Admission refused," said Spiker as she tore up a ticket. "This child has too many cheeky ideas. Go away!" She snapped at her and the family as they walked away in shock.

"Quite right!" Snapped Sponge.

A photographer dressed in black appeared with a camera.

"Ooh, Sponge," said Spiker as she smiled and giggled.

"A photographer," said Sponge.

They did a pose together, and the male photographer took a picture.

"And another," said Spiker as she and Sponge did a different pose.

The camera clicked as Spiker said, "Best side."

"Move on in!" Said Spiker as she snatched photographer's camera and Sponge said to him. "No cameras allowed."

The photographer's face turned glum as he walked away without his camera.

"Don't dawdle!" said Spiker.

"Come along, ladies and gentlemen," called Sponge.

A priest dressed in black robes came up to them.

"Sorry, Father," Spiker said to him. "It'll cost you double."

"May God forgive you," he said.

"Thank you, Father," Spiker said.

Penelope couldn't bear to watch the people anymore so she sat on her bed and dried her tears with her white handkerchief.

James looked out of the window and heard Sponge called out. "Come along, children. Last chance of the day!"

Penelope noticed tears dribbling out from his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Penelope walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Never lose hope James, someday we will leave and run far away," Penelope said as she used her handkerchief to dry the tears from his eyes and she came up with something to cheer him up.

"We will?" James asked.

"Someday James, someday," she could sense God around her and looked at the window.

"_Someday,_

_When we are wiser, _

_When the world's older,_

_When we have learned,"_

She walked up to James and Jaelle.

_"I pray, _

_Someday we may yet live,_

_To live and let live. _

_Someday life will be fairer, _

_Need will be rarer, _

_Greed will not pay. _

_God speed,_

_This bright millennium_

_On its way, _

_Let it come someday."_

Penelope climbed the chair and looked at the sun.

_"Someday_

_My fight will be won then_

_We'll stand in the sun then, _

_That bright afternoon,"_

She climbed down and hugged a pillar.

_"Till then, _

_On days when the sun is gone, _

_We'll hang on,_

_And wish upon the moon._

She then hugged James and Jaelle as she finished her song.

_"Change will come,_

_One day, someday, soon."_

* * *

**Author note: I do not own The Hunchback of Notre Dame but I really love the music from the Disney version and "Someday" is sung by All-4-One and Eternal from the credits. Please read and review I made a revised story. Check out the music video "Someday" on Youtube.**


	4. Meeting New Friends

Later in the evening, Aunt Sponge called, "Yoo-hoo! Come down here!"

As they came downstairs, James and Penelope were wearing their special clothes, James is wearing a bluish-black coat, tan Bermuda shorts, black shoes with black dress knee socks, a white collared shirt with buttons, and a multi-colored tie.

Penelope is dressed in a white shirt with puffed short sleeves, a black strapless sweetheart corset with black lacing in the back, a long dark purple skirt with a white petticoat underneath, around her waist is a wrapped purple sarong with silver moons and golden stars. Her silver pouch holding special items is held on her left side and her father's dagger is wrapped around her right calf, black sandals on her feet, silver dangling earrings, her mother's silver necklace with an amethyst pendant in the shaped of an oval, a silver bracelet on her right wrist, with a silver bangle on the left; a silver anklet on her left ankle, a silver ring with an amethyst gem on the right ring finger and her black hair is pulled back with a purple ribbon as a headband.

Jaelle followed behind with a small golden hoop earring in her left ear with a purple collar around her neck.

"Yes, Auntie Sponge?" Asked James.

"Is there anything you need Mistress?" Penelope asked.

"Ooohhh, both of you are all spiffed up!" Aunt Sponge said admiring the clothes the children are wearing. She and Spiker were wearing their robes counting the money they got today and Spiker is smoking a cigarette and both of them are still wearing their makeup and their hair-dos.

"I was hoping to play with the other children," said James.

"I was hoping to sing and dance to keep the guests entertained," Penelope said.

Sponge and Spiker looked at each other and said together, "Awww."

"The children and the guests have gone," said Aunt Spiker.

James and Penelope looked at each other from eye to eye glumly and knew what those wicked aunts are going to make them do.

"But you can play with their garbage!" Said Spiker as she gave us two wooden sticks.

Aunt Sponge laughed and smirked, "Heh, heh, heh! Garbage. Heh, heh, heh!"

As they took two baskets with their sticks, Aunt Spiker warned them, "And don't you two think of going near our peach."

" 'Cause if you do, remember, they never did catch that rhino," said Sponge as she and her sister laughed off and kept counting their money and James, Penelope, and Jaelle got outside and started to clean up the garbage.

* * *

As the children and the goat collected the garbage, Penelope felt horrible for herself and James living in this miserable life with those two stupid, ugly, and wicked aunts.

_If it wasn't for the disease that killed Mama and Papa, they would have still been alive today, and we would have taken James in with us and he would have been happy._

As they cleaned up, James picked up the bag that used to hold to the crocodile tongues and three of the tongues scattered toward the peach and James, Penelope, and Jaelle chased them.

James cried, "No! Wait a moment!"

"Don't leave us!" Penelope cried.

The children and the goat tried to grab them but they got away. They both slipped near the peach and opened their hands and there was not a crocodile tongue in each of their palms. They both sighed deeply and they walked towards the peach and strongly inhaled the scent.

Penelope turned to James and Jaelle examined the area to see if Sponge and Spiker were around and they weren't.

"James, why don't we eat some of the peach?"

James with worried look said, "I don't think this is a good idea Penelope, what if our aunts spot us?"

"James," Penelope knelt down to his height. "I know you don't like them, but if they caught us, I'll lie to them that I ate the peach and they'll punish me instead of you. I promised your parents that I'd protect with my life, no matter how hard it is. Besides we haven't eaten something fresh for months. So are you hungry for something special?"

James knew that it was true that they were both hungry and said, "Yes."

Penelope pulled out her dagger and used it to grab a huge piece of the peach and cut it into two equal halves. She also cut another piece for Jaelle to eat. Penelope gave the other half to James and as she looked at the chunk, her mouth started to water a little.

They did not notice that the three crocodile tongues leaped into their halves as they bit into the chunks and it felt so refreshing. Even the third tongue jumped in Jaelle's mouth and she swallowed it, she bleated in confusion.

After they gulped, a giant hole came up at the bottom of the peach and the glow was bright green. They dropped their peach pieces and removed the cleaning tools and bend down on their knees and took a look in the hole.

"I think we should go in!" James said to Penelope excitedly.

Penelope felt uneasy about the hole, "I'm not sure so James, it looks like a bad idea."

"Please Penelope!" James begged politely. "Let's a least have a look."

Penelope knew his curiosity would not give up and said, "Well okay, let's see what's in there."

James came in first and Penelope came in behind him, Jaelle came in after Penelope. After Jaelle got in the hole behind them vanished. They kept crawling through the tunnel and felt prickles on their skin and their heads were bigger and their bodies were smaller. The tunnel was darker green and they kept crawling.

" 'Ere, now. Where do think you're goin', Yank?" They heard a female voice with a Scottish accent asking.

"I'm goin' stir-crazy," A male voice with a Brooklyn accent spoke. "I gotta take a look around. Plan our escape from Spiker and Sponge."

"Yeah, lad but t'ey catch us before we 'ave t'e chance to escape," a medium Scottish accent said.

"Escape? To where?" Another male voice with an English accent said. "We'll all be squashed… swatted… smooched!"

As the children and goat got closer to where the voices were coming from, there was this screen and saw a silhouette that looked like almost like a person, but it was not human it looked more like a grasshopper.

"No one's going to _smoosh_ you, my dear boy," he said calmly with a deep formal British accent. "You're six feet long now."

"Very true indeed," the silhouette had big eyes with large thin wings.

"Bigger target," Another silhouette said glumly. He looked like a giant snake wearing glasses.

The silhouette with many arms and the Brooklyn accent said, "Let the biddies come. I'll take 'em both on. I'm "indefeatable." I'm indivisible. I'm…"

James leaned in so close that he fell through the screen and broke it and landed in the room as he screamed, "Woah!"

The monster with the Brooklyn accent cried out, "In trouble!"

James landed on the monsters and Penelope fell after him through the screen and they landed on the multi-armed monster, then they flew over three monsters in the shape of a grasshopper, ladybug, and dragonfly ducked and they slid on the snake.

Jaelle toppled in and landed on her side, she got up and looked anxiously for Penelope and James, when she saw a tall male monster with wings, she charged at him in the gut.

"Ow," the monster with the Scottish accent clenched his stomach in pain. "Me gut hurts!"

After landing, Penelope fell backwards and felt the snake touching her back. She jumped and pointed her dagger at him.

"Don't touch me or I will cut you to pieces!" Penelope yelled.

He cried out, "IT'S SPIKER AND SPONGE! THEY FOUND US!"

Penelope grabbed James's hand and he is really scared and pale. When Jaelle reached them a lantern swung towards the children and another female monster in the lantern with a British accent yelled, "Hello!"

They were both hit by the lantern and fell to the ground, Penelope tried to keep James calm and she kept pointing her dagger to the monsters.

"No, no, no!" the tall monster with the British accent said calmly when he could see better to observe them. "It's the lad and the Gypsy girl from the house. And the goat, what were their names?"

"Miserable ticks!" The thing with the Brooklyn accent with many arms said rudely.

"Isn't it Lazy Little Bugs?" The tall monster with the thin wings jumped up.

"I thought it was rotten little grubs!" the giant snake with glasses said as he slithered to them.

All of a sudden another monster flew towards them causing the children to scream.

"No, that's what those horrible aunts call them," she said with the female Scottish accent. "Their real names are, well it's eh, eh-?"

Jaelle bleated angrily and glared at the monsters.

When James, Penelope, and Jaelle backed up to a wall, a giant monster came down from nowhere and replied with a French accent. "It's James and Penelope. And Jaelle the goat of course."

"Eek!" Penelope screamed and James shrieked "Aaah!"

Jaelle bleated in fright.

The children and the goat both fell back to the corner of the wall and the monsters walked closer to them.

_"What are they gonna do with us?" _Penelope wondered as the monsters coming closer to her.

"Now look what you've done now, miss," the female monster with the Scottish accent said scolding the other monster. "Scared the two and the pet to death."

The monsters cornered them closer to the wall and Penelope felt her heart beating faster and faster.

"Please, don't eat us!" James cried out timidly.

Penelope held out her dagger in front of her, James and Jaelle. She pointed it at the monsters and felt prepared to die.

"Don't you dare touch us you monsters!" She snapped angrily at the monsters.

"Eat you?" Asked the female monster with the Scottish accent, "Us monsters?"

With her jaw dropping, the monsters started to laugh, Penelope was confused why they laughed about eating them and the thing with the Brooklyn accent called out, "Hey Glowworm turn up your lights!"

He clapped two times and after the light turned on, James, Penelope, and Jaelle realized they were not monsters, they were bugs. GIANT bugs to be exact!

The one with the British accent was a towering, elderly dark green grasshopper clothed in a black coat, a white dress shirt, light grey pants, and white shoes with a monocle on his right eye.

The tall, slender, muscular male dragonfly with the deep Scottish accent had blue-green skin, hazel eyes, four light blue wings outlined in green, six arms, short red hair with a beard and mustache and a green tail with a dark blue tip. He is dressed in a white dress shirt, a dark blue coat, a black belt with a gold buckle, a plaid kilt, a cap with a green feather, and tunic with the colors: blue, green, red, and yellow. Two golden broaches, a grey sporran with black tassels, white knee length socks, dark blue garters at the socks, and black shoes.

The snake creature was a blind light brown earthworm and he had black glasses over his eyes, with a white collar, and a red bow.

The thing with the Brooklyn accent is a yellow-orange centipede with blue eyes, with a cigar in his mouth and he is wearing a white shirt, a flat green cap, brown overalls, and he has brown boots on his feet.

The female ladybug with the female Scottish accent was wearing a bright red hat with a black ribbon with white dots and a flower, black hair, a spotted top over her light blue dress, she has pale blue skin with black dress shoes and she is holding a red purse.

The female spider with the French accent had a white face with four golden eyes with her black hair in a bob, a white and black striped abdomen with a roll of thread, tall black boots at the end of her six legs, black gloves on her hands, with a light green bandana around her neck and a dark blue beret.

There was also a glowworm in a lantern with white hair, pale blue skin, a brown dress with a grey twisted shawl with a plastic sun, ruby earrings, she has a light bulb on her tail and she is holding a pair of spectacles.

"I'm a vegetarian," Mr. Grasshopper replied.

"Same here," Dragonfly replied.

"I eat dirt," Earthworm said.

"No one will be eating you, James, Penelope and Jaelle," Miss Spider said to Penelope and James calmly as she lowered herself and smiled at them.

Centipede bumped into her and swung her around and he said to them sarcastically, "Yeah, she'll puncture your heads and suck out the brains."

Miss Spider swung back to him with an angry face, "That I am saving for you."

Miss Spider tried to hit Centipede but he slipped under her and ended up behind her and said. "Woah! Pretty fast, long legs!"

She angrily turned around and hissed at him. It caused Centipede to go up the ladder and jumped out of his skin, "Oh-oo-oo!"

"Oh! Such rude behavior!" said Mrs. Ladybug as she frowned. She turned to James and smiled as she kindly wiped the dirt off of James's face with her handkerchief and she wiped the dirt off of Penelope's face too and said kindly, "There's nothing to be frightened of dearies."

"But you're enormous bugs!" Penelope cried out with astonishment and was filled with shock.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Mr. Grasshopper replied to the Gypsy as he smiled.

"We've all changed," Mrs. Ladybug said as she dug into her purse. "And so did you James, Penelope, and Jaelle." She pulled out a mirror and the children gasped as they saw their reflections in the mirror, they were no longer their real selves but they turned into china doll like people. James took the mirror and looked at himself and said, "The old man who gave us the green things, he said marvelous things will happen."

"Maybe he was right all along," Penelope said as she looked in the mirror. Jalle hopped out to look at the mirror.

"Did he say marvelous pigs in satin?" Glowworm asked.

"No my dear lady," Mr. Grasshopper said to Glowworm, Mrs. Ladybug handed him a megaphone and called to her, "Marvelous things will happen."

"Is she all right?" Penelope asked Mr. Grasshopper filled up with curiosity, he exhaled.

"Poor Glowworm, she's a little deaf."

"I, however, have exquisite hearing," Earthworm said proudly.

"Yeah?" Centipede said. "Well, listen to this." He made whoopee cushion sounds with his arms and he took the megaphone and shouted in an ear-piercing voice. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"

"You mean leave the hill?" Asked James, "We can't! The rhino will get us!"

"Rhino?" Earthworm got scared and hid himself in a giant glove with his long tail still outside.

"I say, dear boy," Mr. Grasshopper said. "I lived on this miserable hill for decades. There are no rhinoceri here."

"Except for Sponge," Centipede said to them. "She's twice as big as a rhino, eh, kids?"

They started to laugh at that funny joke and Penelope knew it is true that Sponge is like a rhino.

Jaelle stood behind Centipede and started to chew on his pants.

"What the?" Centipede felt his pants moving, and turned around to see Jaelle biting into his pants. "Hey! Let go of my pants kid!"

"Jaelle!" Penelope said strictly. "You do not eat new people's clothes."

Jaelle let go and backed up glaring at him.

"Didn't know ya had a kid," Centipede said.

"Oh, she doesn't trust strangers immediately," Penelope said.

Jaelle snuck behind Dragonfly and kicked his butt with her hind legs.

"Ow!" Dragonfly rubbed his butt where he was kicked. "Your goat is tough lass."

"Thanks, Jaelle always wants to head butt Sponge and Spiker, she definitely hates them too."

"And twice as dangerous," Miss Spider said as she crawled on her web. "My life hangs by a thread every day."

"I've had to send all 300 hundred of me children to safer pastures," said Mrs. Ladybug.

"Hah!" Earthworm popped his head out of the glove. "You think hiding in solid rock is fun?" Jaelle came up to Earthworm and sniffed his nose.

"I can't even remember what fun is," James said as Mr. Grasshopper knelt down to his height.

"Same here," Penelope replied.

"Well, it's just 'cause you two've been stuck here for too long," Centipede said to the children. "Listen to me, kids, I know of a place that'll refresh your memory."

Centipede leaped onto Glowworm's lantern and swung around as he broke into song.

_"Bright lights, big city;_

_That's were we gotta go!"_

He leaped off the lantern and went back to them.

"_Where the food is great, And the bugs are so pretty;_

_ I'd like to get my arms around a hundred or so!"_

He danced with Mrs. Ladybug and spun her around.

_"I'd hug 'em, _

_Squeeze 'em, _

_Hold 'em tight!"_

After throwing Earthworm on Mrs. Ladybug, he grabbed Penelope around the waist, and gave her a back flip and after landing on her feet, he spun her around in a fast circle. She felt dizzy and giddy as she spun on her toe as they all watched Centipede do backward somersaults and show-offs.

_"Sleep all day, _

_Dance all night! _

_I want the bright lights_

_And the big city: _

_That's the life for me, _

_Yeah! _

_That's the life for…"_

He then landed in Miss Spider's web and Miss Spider ignited Centipede's cigar.

_"You little maggot!" She outlined a crescent moon._

_"Have you never seen the moon_

_Gliding 'cross the western sky?"_

She then drew a dead oak tree.

_"A dead oak tree by the waterside?_

_Putrid vapors rising…" _She gusted some of the smoke and she exhaled it out into the air. James and Penelope started to hack. Even Jaelle tried to inhale the smoke but coughed.

"That sounds lovely dear. I'm sure we all agree," Mrs. Ladybug spoke and sang as she shook her fan.

_"But I prefer the sunshine,_

_A little park right in the center of the town…"_

Glowworm sang with Mrs. Ladybug, she threw out some flowers from her purse and tossed them up in the air and kept a white flower and red flower.

_"Flowers everywhere, _

_Children all around me: I'd love it! _

_Landing a baby's cheek so warm…_

_It's wonderful, wonderful!"_

She held out the flower for James to sniff and placed a red flower in Penelope's black hair.

_"That's the life for me…" _

_"La la la la la!" _Sang Glowworm.

_"That's the life for me…"_ Penelope spun around as James danced.

_"La la la la la!" s_ang Glowworm.

_"That's the life, _

_That's the life for me…" _

_"If I had a dream," Dragonfly sang._

_"I would definitely_

_Tell t'e world o' me ideas," _he spun Penelope around.

"I'm crazy!" Jaelle jumped as he shouted and she hopped around.

_"Create new inventions! _

_In order to impress the world._

_With eccentricity! Eccentricity! _

_An' t'at's t'e life for me!_

_T'at's t'e life for me!_

_T'at's t'e life for me!" _

Mrs. Ladybug threw a cane and a tall hat to Mr. Grasshopper and he caught them. He walked down the steps and every time Centipede interrupts him.

_"Elegant conversation…" _Mr. Grasshopper sings.

_"Bright lights, big city…" _Centipede cuts in.

_"An elevated point of view..." _Mr. Grasshopper sang, as he bonked Centipede's head with his cane.

_"That's where I'd go," _Centipede appears and sings.

_"Intellectual stimulation…" _Mr. Grasshopper sang as he kicks him.

_"Yeah, maybe for you,"_ Sang Centipede and moved just in time as Mr. Grasshopper tried to hit him.

Mr. Grasshopper hands the hat to James _"And someone you love to share it with you!"_

They kept singing and dancing.

_"It would be wonderful,"_

_Wonderful, _

_That's the life for me!"_

"You call that a life?" Earthworm asked.

_"That's the life for me!" _They sang.

"It's no pile of dirt," Earthworm said.

_"That's the life," _Mrs. Ladybug sang underneath the yellow spotlight.

_"That's the life," _Mr. Grasshopper sang underneath the blue spotlight.

_"That's the life," _Centipede sang underneath the red spotlight.

_"That's t'e life," _Dragonfly sang underneath the green spotlight.

_"That's the life for-"_

"Where are you hiding miserable ticks?" Everyone went silent as they heard the yell. It was Aunt Sponge.

Centipede walked straight over to the ladder.

"Hup! Time to go make a pest of myself! Heh-heh!" he said mischievously and laughed as he disappeared.

* * *

Outside the peach, Sponge and Spiker were holding lanterns and they were walking around looking for James, Penelope and Jaelle.

"Look at this place!" Sponge looked at the area and said in disgust. "It's still filthy!"

* * *

Inside the peach, everyone, even James, Penelope, and Jaelle got very frightened by Sponge and Spiker.

"Where are you, detestable little worms?" Spiker called out.

Earthworm shrieked and fainted.

"Not you! US!" James cried.

"You better not be near our peach!" Aunt Sponge called out.

"Oh please! Don't let them spray us!" begged Mrs. Ladybug.

"We won't let them harm you at all," Penelope said to her calmly as she held Mrs. Ladybug's hand gently.

"Spray us?" cried Earthworm. "They'll see the Yank up there and come after us with a shovel! It happened to my brother!"

"How awful!" cried James and Earthworm finished his story in a nutshell, "Split him right down the middle. Now I have two half brothers!"

"Shh! They'll hear us!" whispered Mr. Grasshopper.

Jaelle got near Penelope and bleated gently.

Penelope stoked her goat and hugged her.

"Don't worry Jaelle," Penelope said. "They won't find us in here. I do hope we don't get caught and punished."

Penelope felt her body tense up, and her heart started to beat faster. The Gypsy girl then felt two hands on her shoulders and they were gently helping her calm down. Penelope turned around and it was Dragonfly, he noticed that the girl needed to calm down and know they're safe.

He hugged Penelope close and she rested her head against his chest and heard his heart beating against her ear.

"No worry lass," He said gently while one of his hands gently stroked my long black hair. "We'll protect you and James from them hags."

"Thank you," Penelope said sweetly and looked into his kind eyes. "You are very kind. I can't let those cruel aunts get me and James. They always beat us starve us, insult us, and they never regretted being cruel to us."

"As long as if ye are wit' us," he said. "Ye are safe."

James walked over to Penelope and he rested his head against her chest. She wrapped her arms around the boy for comfort.

"I'm scared of my aunts," James said.

"Yes, I know," Penelope looked into his sweet brown eyes. Jaelle came near Miss Spider and the huge bug stroked the goat's head.

Penelope's emerald eyes turned up to where Centipede ascended outside and she prayed.

"Please be careful Centipede. Don't get spotted by our aunts."


	5. Escape From the Hill to Freedom

Centipede popped out of the hole and he saw Spiker and Sponge walking around and they were really looking for the kids and the goat.

"Yoo-hoo!" Called Spiker. "Where are you boy and gypsy girl? And you too goat?"

"I think I hear a rhino right here," called Sponge.

Centipede thought of a way to break the peach free the tree and saw the stem attached to the tree.

"Ahh! This will be a snap," He muttered to himself as he grinned.

He started to use his antennas to chop the stem.

Sponge and Spiker heard the sound and Spiker shushed her sister.

"Shh! I really do hear something," she said quietly.

Centipede kept chopping the stem and when he was nearly there.

"Timber!" he murmered.

He quickly slipped in the hole before Spiker and Sponge could see him.

Everything and everyone started to tilt. Penelope wrapped her arms around James to protect him and held him tightly.

Jaelle jumped up and Dragonfly caught her and held her tight.

"Easy there kid!" he stroked her.

Centipede jumped backed in.

"What's that?" James asked.

"Fasten your seat belts kids!" Centipede said.

"What's going on?" Penelope asked.

* * *

"Ahh!" Sponge and Spiker screamed. "The car!"

They rushed to their car to escape as the peach rolled towards them.

* * *

As everyone started to run James and Penelope cried, "We're turning!"

"Wha-wha-wha- what have you done?" Earthworm cried.

As Penelope started to run with the others, she felt sick in her stomach as the peach started to tilt and she replied, "I don't feel so good!"

"Relax little honeybun!" Centipede said to Penelope. "We'll be fine!"

"Baaaaa!" Jaelle bleated.

The peach started to roll on top of Sponge and Spiker when they tried to start up their car and escape and the peach squished the car.

The peach started accelerating down the hill and it went through a village, rolled through a graveyard and flew over the church.

Now everyone was now lying on the stonewalls of the peach stone and Penelope felt like she was riding on a ride at an amusement park.

"Here stomach, here stomach, HERE STOMACH!" Yelled Centipede.

Penelope was holding on to James's hand and screeched and pray that they will survive. She, James, Jaelle, and the bugs were lying flat on the wall and they were all dizzy and they couldn't move or talk.

Then the peach was in the air and it fell downwards into the water making a huge splatter. Everything went black.

* * *

There were some groans and everyone was tangled up and Penelope was on the floor lying flat on her stomach and she felt something slimy wrapped around her waist and when her hand touched it, it was Earthworm.

"Help!" Earthworm screamed. "I'm being attacked!" He quickly squeezed around Penelope's waist as if she wore a corset. Penelope felt she was going to pass out.

"Earthworm..." she gasped. "I ...can't breathe!" When Earthworm realized it was Penelope, he loosed himself and Penelope caught her breath. She crawled over to the wall and rested her back.

"Sorry Penelope, I thought you were the Grasshopper," said Earthworm.

"Not at all Earthworm," Penelope said as she reached the wall, "It's all good."

"Where are we?" Asked James.

"Ow!" Earthworm yelled. "Somebody pinched me!"

"Sorry," Centipede responded. "I thought you were the Spider."

Miss Spider hit back Centipede back angrily but what all they heard was Mr. Grasshopper gasping.

"Ouch!" Mr. Grasshopper. "What was that?"

"Excuse," Miss Spider said apologetically. "I thought you were the Centipede."

"Jaelle?" Penelope said. "Where are you?"

"Baaaa!" there was a bleating above her and Penelope looked up.

"Jaelle!"

Jaelle was dangling by her hoof and she then slipped and hopped off of Centipede and landed on Dragonfly.

"Ouch!" Dragonfly yelled. "Centipede, I can't breathe!"

"It's not me! It's the kid!"

"Oh, sorry Jaelle," Jaelle bleated in a soft tone.

"Hey Glowworm," Centipede called out. "How about some light?"

"I can't hear you, dear," Glowworm replied while trying to get her light on, "I'll have to put my light on."

The light turned to green and the whole group was tangled up and poor Mrs. Ladybug was lying on her back moving her arms and legs as a normal sized ladybug would do.

"Oh! Oh! This is so un-ladybug-like!" James walked over to Mrs. Ladybug and helped her up to her feet.

"Don't worry. I'll have you right-side up in no time."

"Thank you, James," Mrs. Ladybug smiled. James walked to the ladder, "Where are you going?"

"To see where we've landed," James responded politely as he climbed the ladder.

"I'll come with you too," Penelope stood up and climbed after him, and she picked up Jaelle and held her under one arm.

He opened the peach hole and there was a bright blue sky with seagulls flying around.

"Woah!" James cried and he climbed up on the peach stem.

Penelope cried in astonishment "Oh my!" It was the beautiful blue, salty, and calm ocean.

"Oh, my, my!" Mrs. Ladybug crawled out in astonishment.

"Oh, my achin' back!" Earthworm came out.

"Ohhhh!" Dragonfly climbed out and was amazed by the sight of the ocean.

"Ohh! Fascinating isn't it?" Mr. Grasshopper asked Penelope.

"Yes it is," Penelope replied to him. "I could stay out here forever."

"What? What's so fascinating tell me?" Earthworm asked in a worried voice. "Don't leave me dangling."

Miss Spider came next and Centipede followed after her.

"We're in the middle of the…" Miss Spider said in amazement. "How do you say? The big puddle."

"The biggest puddle of them all, Angel Fangs," Centipede said as Miss Spider frowned and showed off her teeth. "The Atlantic Ocean."

"Technically, the Pacific is larger," said Mr. Grasshopper.

"But there is land in sight?" Asked Earthworm.

"Nothing but blue skies and clear waters," Mrs. Ladybug said.

Earthworm made a grunt and went towards Centipede.

"This is all your fault!"

"Hey!" Centipede shot back at him. "Wasn't for me, we'd all be Spiked and Sponged by now!"

"Aren't ye two overreactin' a bit?" Dragonfly asked. "Besides we're far away for now."

Penelope knew that Centipede is right that Sponge and Spiker didn't get them and if they did they would skin all of them.

"This old man with his green things..." Miss Spider asked James and Penelope. "Did he happen to speak to where we are going?"

"No," said James as Mr. Grasshopper walked near him. "All he said was the answers would be right here." James felt something in his coat pocket. "Huh?"

He pulled his travel book of New York City. "My travel book!" Penelope was surprised and she thought Sponge and Spiker tore it to pieces.

Penelope felt her pouch grew bigger and she pulled out her tambourine! She thought she left it in the old room.

James and Penelope looked in the travel book and they saw the peach sailing on the Atlantic Ocean.

"Look!" James cried. "There's the peach!" The peach is sailing from London to their star destination: New York City! Penelope's heart started to beat faster.

"We're going to New York City!" she cried.

Jaelle bleated in joy and hopped around in glee.

"New York!" Centipede cried out. "They love me there!"

James explained to each of the bugs and Centipede cried out what James meant.

"A park full of leaves for you Mrs. Ladybug," said James.

"Oh" she exclaimed.

"Central Park!" Centipede blurted out.

"And loads of dark hiding places," he said to Miss Spider as she smiled.

"Nightclubs!" Centipede interrupts.

"And museums and concerts," James said to Mr. Grasshopper.

Centipede reply "Not to mention Yankee Stadium."

"What about me?" Earthworm asked.

"Why, they've got miles and miles of underground tunnels!" Earthworm smiled.

"The subway," Centipede said.

"Is there anything for me laddie?" Dragonfly asked.

"Why they have a technical school where you can show off your inventions Mr. Dragonfly!"

"The New York City Technical School!" Centipede wrapped his arm around Dragonfly.

"And there's musical shows, movie productions and ballet dancing for you Penelope!" James said to Penelope.

"The New York City Ballet Company, Whitewater Studious and Broadway!" Centipede said as he swung an arm around Penelope.

Penelope knew she can get her dream with these productions, she can dance and join Broadway and Hollywood and become an actress, singer, and dancer. She can even talk about gypsy culture and tell fortunes.

"My father said it's the city where dreams come true," said James.

_"That's the life for me!"_ Sang Centipede.

_"That's the life for me!" _Sang Mrs. Ladybug.

_"That's the life for me!"_ Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, and Centipede sang.

_"That's the life for me!" _Sang Miss Spider and Mrs. Ladybug.

_"That's the life..." s_ang James and Penelope.

_"That's the life... _

_That's the life... _

_That's the life... _

_That's the for me!"_ The others even James and Penelope sang at the same time and Jaelle reared up.

"New York it is then!" Mr. Grasshopper exclaimed and he asked, "Now, how do we get there?"

"I'll get us there!" Centipede said.

"You?" Asked Mr. Grasshopper.

"Sure!" Said Centipede as he got in front of Miss Spider. "I've sailed the five seas: from the sun drenched wreaths of Bora Bora... to the icy shores of Tripoli."

Mr. Grasshopper rolled his eyes and corrected him, "Seven."

Huh?" Asked Centipede.

"There are seven seas and Tripoli is in the sun tropics... Commodore."

"Trim the sails!" Centipede didn't listen to him.

"There are no sails," said Mrs. Ladybug.

"Stoke the engines," he ordered again.

"There are no engines." Said Earthworm.

"I can't work with the miserable crew," complained Centipede as he threw his hat down.

"Great!" said Earthworm "We're stuck here until we shrivel up and die!"

"Stop yer worryin' Earthworm!" Dragonfly said. "Things are gonna be fine! Right Mr. Grasshopper?"

"Highly improbable," said Mr. Grasshopper as he cleaned his monocle.

"Well, that's a relief," said Mrs. Ladybug.

"We're far more likely to drown," said Mr. Grasshopper.

"Please Mr. Grasshopper," Penelope cried. "I don't wanna hear something like that!"

Jaelle bleated in worry and ran towards James and Penelope.

Penelope noticed James was watching the sky and saw the seagulls flying in the air.

"I know! We could…" He spoke up his face brightening, then his face turned glum. "No, it's a stupid idea."

"What is it?" Penelope asked James.

"Compared to what?" Mr. Grasshopper also asked him.

"Well, we could fly out," James said.

"He's right," Centipede agreed with James. "It's stupid."

"How would you do it, James?" Mrs. Ladybug asked James.

"With those seagulls," James answered as he looked up at the seagulls. "But we'll need string."

"Oh well, I'll just go to the stationer's and pick up some paper clips while I'm at it!" said Earthworm.

"I have string," Miss Spider said as she pulled some string from her abdomen, "Miles of string."

"And we'll need bait," Penelope finished up the plan with the solution. "Bird bait."

"Bird bait?" Centipede, Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, and Mrs. Ladybug circled around him and they were all smiling. "Where do you expect we're gonna find bird bait out here in the middle of the…"

He stopped talking as Mrs. Ladybug pulled out a cowbell from her purse and it clanged,

"The… Oh, no! No, no!" Earthworm said as he turned around said with a scared tone in his voice. "Have you lost your minds?"

They grabbed Earthworm and wrapped the bell around his neck as he screamed.


	6. The Giant Shark

"They've lost their minds! Anything but birds," Earthworm said, he was lying down on the peach with the bell around his neck.

Centipede held Earthworm and James and Penelope both held the first string.

"Don't worry," James reassured him. "I'm right here. Now, wiggle."

"No!' Earthworm refused.

"You have to wiggle Mr. Earthworm!" Cried Penelope.

"But they won't come if you don't wiggle," said James.

"Exactly and you can't make me," said Earthworm.

Centipede grew impatient and he came up with "Plan B."

"Oh yeah!" Centipede snickered as he tickled Earthworm's sides and Earthworm laughed and rang the bell as he wiggled.

"Oh hey! No fair! Mockingbirds munched my mother!" cried Earthworm as he laughed.

As he kept wiggling, a seagull noticed him and swooped down towards him.

When Penelope saw the seagull, she nodded to James and said to the others, "Here comes the first one. Get ready to pull down there."

"My sisters were swallowed by swallows!" Cried Earthworm.

The bird squeaked and James yelled as he gave the signal, "Pull!"

The others pulled hard on Earthworm's body down. James threw the string around the seagulls' neck and tied it to them and he said excitedly, "It worked! I caught one!"

"Wonderful James!" Penelope called out to him.

"Shh! I hear teeth," Earthworm said. "Great, big, gnashing teeth!"

Penelope crawled out with Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, and Jaelle to see what was going on.

"It sounds like a rhinoceros!" Penelope exclaimed.

Jaelle bleated in fright.

"In the ocean?" Mr. Grasshopper said calmly. "Uh, scientifically impossible."

"I hear something too!" said Miss Spider.

A whirlpool appeared and it started to suck in a school of tuna. Mr. Grasshopper looked in his monocle and saw the whirlpool.

"It's a school of tuna," Mr. Grasshopper said. "They're being sucked into some sort of machine."

"Ye don' t'ink it's t'e loch ness monster?" Dragonfly asked.

"What do you mean?" Asked James.

"Take a look," Mr. Grasshopper said and he handed James his monocle and he took a look in it and he saw a giant robot shark popped out of the water.

"It's a giant shark!" he cried.

The giant mechanical shark spitted out plates with tuna heads. It was just like the food Sponge and Spiker gave them back at the old house and it was disgusting!

"Ye don't t'ink it'll come fer us?" Dragonfly asked.

"It seems to have spotted us!" Cried Centipede

The robot shark started to swim towards them.

"Uh oh!" Cried Penelope.

Jaelle bleated in firght.

"What do we do?" Centipede wrapped his arms around James and shook him and cried, "What do we do?"

"The seagulls!" said James filled with determination. "It's our only chance."

"It would take the whole flock and then some," said Mr. Grasshopper. "We'll never do it in time!"

When he said that, Centipede shook like a leaf and held his cap.

"What can we do to catch 'em?" Dragonfly asked.

"We'll use Miss Spider's web for a net," James said. "Hurry!"

Miss Spider tore down her web and wrapped it up.

"Throw it here dearie!" Mrs. Ladybug cried and Miss Spider tossed her web to Mrs. Ladybug.

Mrs. Ladybug threw the net to James and Penelope.

James caught the net and he and Penelope turned to Earthworm.

"Wiggle Mr. Earthworm!" Pleaded Penelope.

"Our lives depend on it!" Said James.

"I can't! I'm all wiggled out!" Said Earthworm as he tried to get back into the peach and Centipede grunted and grabbed Earthworm.

"Here, let me help you," Centipede said smirking.

He then spun Earthworm into the air and Earthworm screamed.

"Come and get it!" Centipede yelled to the seagulls. "Get your fresh hot wienie!"

The whole flock of seagulls flew down towards Earthworm as they heard Centipede yelling to them. "Come on, baby!"

Jaelle jumped up and down to get attention.

The shark kept swimming to the peach.

After the seagulls flew closer, Centipede jumped down the hole with Earthworm, and James and Penelope tossed the net and they caught all of the seagulls.

"We got 'em! Hand us the loops!" Said James.

Miss Spider and Mrs. Ladybug tossed up the strings to James and Penelope and the tied the strings to the stem and James and Penelope started to tie the strings around the seagulls' necks and Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, and Centipede came out and helped James and Penelope tie up the seagulls.

"Hurry!" Cried James.

"Faster! The shark's getting closer!" Yelled Penelope.

"Shake a leg there!" Mr. Grasshopper snapped at Centipede.

"Keep your pants on!" Yelled Centipede. "I've only got twelve hands!"

"An' I 'ave six!" Dragonfly said.

As they kept tying up the seagulls, the shark was gaining on them.

"It's getting closer!" Cried Earthworm as he was hiding in the tunnels.

They released the net and the seagulls that are tied up flew up into the sky.

"Seagulls away!" Yelled Centipede.

The peach was lifted from the water as the seagulls lifted it into the air.

They hoped they were going to get away from the shark but he shot an arrow at them and it pierced through the peach and went through the stone and nearly hit Miss Spider and Mrs. Ladybug and they gasped.

"Oh no!" Cried James as he looked at the shark.

"Oh dear!" Cried Mr. Grasshopper.

As the arrow pulled back the peach, Centipede fell forward and grabbed the cord and his hat.

Then sharp scissors like sharks were shot at them and James and Penelope turned the stem but one of the sharp things cut some of the strings and a few seagulls were flying away.

"They're getting away!" Cried James as the seagulls flew away.

"Hop on, James!" Said Mr. Grasshopper and James hopped on his back and Mr. Grasshopper jumped up to grab the seagulls.

"Here lass," Dragonfly picked Penelope up by the waist and they flew up towards the sky to reach the seagulls.

"Now nab them!" Mr. Grasshopper and James grabbed the strings and as they went down tugging the strings.

"Grab 'em lassie!" Dragonfly called. Penelope and Dragonfly grabbed the strings of the seagulls on flew down.

The shark shot two more of those sharp scissor sharks and Penelope watched them both scream, "Help!"

Then Mrs. Ladybug crawled out of the peach and flew in the air and swung her purse around to hit the sharp shark scissors.

"Hooligans!" Said Mrs. Ladybug as she hit the Scissors with her purse and the other one as it fell into the ocean, "Ruffians! Degenerates!"

Dragonfly flew Penelope down to the stem and waited for James and Mr. Grasshopper to land.

They both landed and James jumped off of Mr. Grasshopper and he and Penelope tied the strings with the seagulls back on the stem.

Mr. Grasshopper, Mrs. Ladybug, James and Penelope cheered on the seagulls.

"Come on seagulls!" Yelled James.

"Put your backs into it!" Yelled Mr. Grasshopper.

"Shake your bloomin' tail feathers!" Yelled Mrs. Ladybug.

"You can do it!" Yelled Penelope.

"Fly away from the beast!" Dragonfly yelled.

As the cheering was going on, Centipede was climbing on the cord trying to reach the fence pathway and he muttered to the shark, "Good sharky... nice sharky..."

Inside the peach, Miss Spider grabbed a hammer and started to pound on the arrow so that they could escape.

Centipede almost fell and he slob towards the shark's mouth and screamed, "Sharky!"

Centipede was almost near the mouth of the shark and held onto the cord for dear life and Miss Spider kept hammering the cord.

Centipede acted like a chicken and he ran up the wire and reached the wooden fence pathway just in the nick of time as Miss Spider slammed the arrow and as Centipede ran up the pathway, the arrow went in the shark's mouth and it started to break down and blew up into to pieces.

Everyone all applauded and Centipede jumped on the pathway and shouted,

"Teach ya to mess with me, ya overgrown sardine! I'm from Brooklyn!" Penelope cracked up about Centipede's joke.

"Pure Twadle!" Mr. Grasshopper giggled and said. "Every bug on board displayed extraordinary courage. Why, did you see Ms. Ladybug risk life and wing to bash those brutes on the snoot?"

"Well, they were being very rude," Mrs. Ladybug replied. "I can't abide rudeness."

"Baaa!" Jaelle jumped up around Mr. Grasshopper for attention.

"And Jaelle did use her hooves to help James and Penelope catch the seagulls."

"We are all forgetting something," Miss Spider turned to James and Penelope. "Everything we did was a part of the brilliant plan of James, Penelope, and Jaelle."

"It really did work didn't it?" James asked.

"I knew you would figure out something to save our lives," Penelope came up to James and she lifted him up and hugged him. "I'm so happy for all of us!"

Jaelle jumped in Penelope's arms and licked James' face.

"I say three cheers for James and Penelope," Mr. Grasshopper called out, "Hip hip…"

"Hooray!" said Earthworm, Dragonfly, and Centipede.

"Hip hip…" Mr. Grasshopper said for the second time.

"Hooray!" Then Glowworm and Mrs. Ladybug cried in joy.

"Hip hip…" Mr. Grasshopper said one last time and everyone yelled "Hooray!"

"New York!" Centipede walked to the stem and he spitted every hand and turned the stem and yelled, "Here we come!"

And the peach flew into the air.


	7. The Prayer

Penelope sat on the fence pathway, and Jaelle laid her head on the girl's lap. She stroked the goat's head and smiled. She loved the cool breeze blowing in her long thick hair.

The sky was thick with the clouds and James was on the lower part of the fence pathway.

"Dear God, I always wonder if you are nearby, but I always knew that James, Jaelle, and I will be free from our prison. I do wonder what will happen to us once we get to New York City?" Penelope felt her eyes watering. "Will those hags follow us and take us back? What if the people there don't accept me because I am a Gypsy I can't let that happen, maybe our new bug friends aren't so bad after all. I do hope they protect us. Give thy blessings to James' parents and to Mama and Papa too, Amen."

Penelope looked down and saw the clouds below her and she looked at Jaelle and then up at the sky.

"_I don't know if you can hear me," _Penelope sang

"_Or if you're even there,"_

_I don't know if you would listen to a gypsy's prayer,_

_Yes I know I'm just an outcast," _

_I shouldn't speak to You."_

_Still I see Your face and wonder,_

_Were You once an outcast too?"_

Dragonfly sat near the fence pathway with Mrs. Ladybug and he was smoking his pipe. He then heard a voice that sounded like a summer breeze. He and Mrs. Ladybug looked below and saw Penelope sitting with her goat Jaelle and heard her sing.

"_God help the outcasts,_

_Hungry from birth,_

_Show them the mercy,_

_They don't find on earth._

_God help my people,_

_They look to You still,_

_God help the outcasts,_

_Or nobody will."_

Dragonfly was enamored with her voice and he and Mrs. Ladybug walked down the fence pathway to hear Penelope better.

"_I ask for nothing," _Penelope sang.

_"I can get by._

_But I know so many less lucky than I._

_Please help my people,_

_The poor and down trod."_

Penelope felt the sunlight shining down on her as if God were answering her prayer.

"_I thought we all were,_

_The Children of God,_

_God help the Outcasts,_

_Children of God,"_

Jaelle nuzzled her face and Penelope hugged her goat as she once more sang.

"_Children of God."_

Mrs. Ladybug and Dragonfly smiled as the girl hugged her goat.

"There ye are lass," Penelope's head snapped up and saw Dragonfly and Mrs. Ladybug walking towards her and Jaelle.

"Oh," Penelope gasped. "You heard my prayer?"

"Aye dearie," Mrs. Ladybug said. "And what a voice, it is extremely beautiful."

"Oh thanks," Penelope said. "I was just saying a little prayer of a bright future."

"A bright future eh lassie?"

"Yes," Penelope said. "I was just praying that nothing bad will happen for me and James when we get to New York City. What will happen to us when we get there?"

"You could live with us dearie," Mrs. Ladybug said. "You're now far away from those aunts of James. You have us."

"Yes," Penelope looked down. "But not freedom, 'Gypsies don't do well inside stone walls and Europe.'" She repeated Spiker's line and she slowly took out the dagger and admired the beauty of it.

"You 'ave a dagger?" Dragonfly asked. "Aren't ye a wee young to 'ave one?"

"Yes, but it was my Papa's, even this ring, handkerchief and pouch were once my mother's. They gave them to me before their souls went to Heaven." Tears slowly slid down the girl's cheek and Jaelle did her best to comfort her mistress.

"Oh," Mrs. Ladybug felt sorry for the girl. "Sorry dearie, we did not know."

Penelope blew her nose and wiped her face.

"It's all right, it's been three years since they died," Penelope said. "James's parents took me and Jaelle in after they died of a poison in their drinks. It was arsenic, and we claimed it murder. But we never found the killers. But what matters the most is that they're in my heart and soul. Also James, Jaelle, and I are finally away from Sponge and Spiker, I never want to see their faces again. I hope I earn my freedom there."

"Oh, sorry lass," Dragonfly said as he wrapped his arm around Penelope. "No need to worry, we will set you free once we reach America."

"Thanks, oh and about what you did earlier," Penelope stuttered. "Thanks and sorry."

"For what?" Mrs. Ladybug asked.

"For being kind and protecting James, Jaelle, and I from those aunts," Penelope said. "It's been a while since we received kindness and love from someone, since James lost his parents, those aunts of his never treated us with kindness," Penelope then frowned. "I am so sorry for calling you monsters. I was just scared, that's all, I was trying to protect James and Jaelle from strangers. But no offense, you really did look like monsters in the dark."

"None taken lass," Dragonfly said. "I h'ate to bring this up, but why would t'ose 'ags be so cruel to you, the lad, and the kid?"

"Well, we know they weren't so trustworthy, but hopes of a better life broke to a thousand pieces when we went to live in that Hell-hole. And we were abused from that day on."

"Sorry lass," Dragonfly said.

Penelope thought of a different topic to talk about.

"Can I read your hands?"

"Why would you want to read our hands Penelope?" Mrs. Ladybug asked.

"It's called palmistry," Penelope said. "When my parents and ancestors were alive, they read palms of pale-skinned people. They read lines on their palms and read their lifelines and personalities. You might be the first bugs to read palms?"

Mrs. Ladybug held out her three-fingered hand and Penelope took it and read it.

"Hmmm, a long life line," Penelope read a line wrist to middle of fingers. "This line means that you are kind, but firm and you'll be a nurse."

"That's fascinating dearie."

"How 'bout me lassie?" Dragonfly asked.

Penelope took his hand and read the lines of his palm.

"This line says that you have a long life line, and it also says that you are eccentric and are destined for great things and inventions in the future."

Penelope kept examining his palm and hummed to herself.

"I don't see any lines," Penelope mumbled.

"What lines lass?"

"Monster lines," she said looking up. "Not a single one. Now you look at me? Do you think I'm evil?"

"Oh no," Mrs. Ladybug said. "You are kind, and beautiful and a…"

"And a gypsy," Penelope said. "Maybe Sponge and Spiker were wrong about us after all. You helped me and James, and someday, we will help you."

Down on the fence pathway, Earthworm was gliding on the fence to join the others and little did he know that James was in front of him reading his travel book smiling and looking forward to New York City.

Earthworm's nose touched James's rear end causing the boy to jump.

Earthworm cried, "Who ever you are keep away from me! Keep away!"

Earthworm was about to drop to his death and James stopped him.

"Earthworm! It's me!" the boy grabbed Earthworm and pulled him up on the fence pathway.

"Oh, James," Earthworm said filled with relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

"You mustn't frighten yourself like this all the time," James said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"You'll make yourself sick," James replied. "When I had a problem, my mum and dad would tell me to look at it another way."

"How? First I was bird bait, then I was shark bait."

"I suppose," said James. "Or, you could say gave us wings to fly, and defeated a giant shark single-handedly."

"No-handedly," said Earthworm.

"Exactly," James said. "You're a hero."

"I am?" Earthworm held up his head high and proud as he smiled smiled, "I'm... Wonder Worm!"

"You are!" James said smiling.


	8. The Peach Feast

By around mid-afternoon, the peach flew up into the sky and was above the orange yellow colored clouds in the shape of steaming teapots, which was very beautiful.

Penelope was lying flat on her stomach with her dagger and pouch at her side. She was talking to James about their plans when they get to New York.

Dragonfly was sitting near Jaelle and Mrs. Ladybug and was taking a drag of his pipe.

Centipede was standing at the peach stem, and he rubbed his stomach and was complaining.

"Want… food," he groaned. "Food." He chewed at the end of his cigar hoping it would stuff him up. It was nasty.

"You sure you know where we're going?" Mr. Grasshopper asked. "I don't see how you can navigate without a compass."

As he spoke, he turned into a bottle of wine and a piece of cheese. Centipede immediately blinked and rubbed his eyes and he looked at Earthworm.

"It's very hot up here," Earthworm turned into a hot dog with a line of mustard on his body. "I'm roasted."

"Ye can say t'at again laddie," Dragonfly turned into a chicken leg. "It's even more 'otter t'an Scotland."

Centipede shook his head madly and looked up at the seagulls. One turned into roasted chicken and licked his lips. He made sure no one was looking and started to pull down on a string a seagull was on and he was ready to bite off the seagull's head.

"Unhand that bird!" Mrs. Ladybug yelled and hit his head hard with her purse.

"Aah-aah!" Centipede snapped back into reality and the seagull yanked on his nose hard and yelped in pain.

"But I'm dyin' of hunger," Centipede said to Mrs. Ladybug with a dry mouth.

"Oh, perhaps I have a bit of soda bread in here somewhere," Mrs. Ladybug said as she dug in her purse.

"Food?" Mr. Grasshopper turned around. Penelope turned around and watched Mr. Grasshopper walked up to Centipede and Mrs. Ladybug.

"It's not much," Mrs. Ladybug said as she took out the soda bread. "But it's..."

"Not so fast!" yelled Mr. Grasshopper as he took the soda bread from Mrs. Ladybug.

"Hey!" Yelled Centipede.

"You!" Cried Mrs. Ladybug.

"I need this food," Mr. Grasshopper said as he bit into the soda bread with his mouthful. "I have a much higher metabolism."

"Bite me!" Centipede yelled at Mr. Grasshopper.

"What?" asked Mr. Grasshopper as Centipede jumped on him and the two started to fight over the soda bread.

"Have you two gone mad?" Mrs. Ladybug yelled to the two bugs.

James and Penelope watched Centipede and Mr. Grasshopper trying to get the soda bread.

Jaelle ran up and bit into Centipede's pants only to bite his rear end.

"Ow! Let go of my pants Kid!" Dragonfly pulled Jaelle off of Centipede and held her firmly.

"Let go of it Gramps! Get it! Give it to me!" Centipede yelled as he got on top of Mr. Grasshopper.

"Let go of my coat!" yelled Mr. Grasshopper.

"Give it to me!"

"Ow! My lower thorax!"

"I'll rip you apart!"

"I tell you, it's mine!"

"Give... it...back!" yelled Centipede as he tried to retrieve the soda bread and it slipped out of their hands and it toppled down the side.

Mr. Grasshopper and Centipede looked at each other angrily.

"Now look what you've done?" they said at the same time, and they stared to fight.

"We're going to starve," Earthworm cried out. "Waste away. And not quickly."

"Take it easy Earthworm," Dragonfly said. "Complainin' ain't gonna 'elp!"

As they kept fighting, Penelope looked over to James and noticed that he is pressing his hands into the peach and an idea came into his head.

"Oh, no, that would be the easy way out," Earthworm groaned. "We'll linger. Slowly. Miserably. Painfully."

"Nobody's going to starve!" James said as he smiled.

"Take it easy all of you!" Penelope said to their friends.

The fight between Centipede and Mr. Grasshopper stopped and were surprised and didn't know what the children were talking about.

"Don't you see?" asked James. "We have enough food here for five voyages." He and the Gypsy girl climbed into the hole and the others gathered around them.

"Food? Where?" asked Centipede "What are you talkin' about?"

"Is there really food?" Mr. Grasshopper asked.

"Of course there's food, Mr. Grasshopper," Penelope said.

"The whole ship is made of food," James and Penelope appeared with a huge piece of peach.

Penelope smiled as she took a piece of the peach and watched as the insects took a small slab of peach. She used her dagger to cut a small piece in half and offered it to Earthworm and Jaelle.

"Oh such a clever little boy and young girl," Mrs. Ladybug said.

Centipede took a bigger piece and took a large bite of it.

"Takes after me." he said with his mouthful.

"After you, there is nothing left to take," Miss Spider said as she took Centipede's small piece without saying please.

"Aye," Dragonfly said. "'tis better t'an grass."

Jaelle bleated in agreement.

"At least Jaelle won't eat any more of your trousers," Penelope said.

"It's delectable," Mr. Grasshopper as he ate the pieces off his coat. "Mmm-mmm!"

"Better than aphids," Mrs. Ladybug said.

"Mm, better than ladybugs," Miss Spider said.

"What?!" Mrs. Ladybug exclaimed in shock.

"Excuse," said Miss Spider shyly.

"It's not dirt," Earthworm bit into his slice, "but it's not bad."

"Not bad?" Centipede asked skeptically and commented, "It's the best thing I've ever tasted, and I have tasted a lot." Each bug took turns and jumped into the hole and they planned to set up a feast.

Centipede, James and Penelope went to one side of the peach and both the children grabbed another big lump of peach. They slid down the ladder and leapt onto the lantern Glowworm was in and were lowered down.

_"I've eaten many strange and scrumptious dishes in my time," _Centipede sang.

_Like chili bugs and curried slugs and earwigs cooked in slime."_

After getting close to the table, Mr. Grasshopper helped James down, and Dragonfly placed his hands on Penelope's waist and placed her down.

_"And mice with rice is very nice when they're roasted in their prime,"_ Centipede was still holding onto the lantern took off his cap and turned it into a chef's hat.

_But don't forget to sprinkle them with just a pinch of grime." _Jaelle rolled her eyes.

After sprinkling the peach chunk with the ashes from his cigar like pepper. He spun the peach chunk around like he was making a pot in pottery. He used knives to cut it into pieces and Penelope took three slices and gave two to James and Jaelle. They began to nibble on their slices like mice.

_"I'm crazy about mosquitoes on a piece of buttered toast_," Centipede swung around on the lantern and handed Glowworm a slice of peach.

"_And pickled spines of porcupines,_

_And then a great big roast and dragon's flesh quite old not fresh, it costs a buck at most."_

"Does it come with gravy?" Glowworm asked.

_"It comes to you in barrels if you order it by post?"_ Centipede sang as he swung to Miss Spider and after handing over her peach slice the looked like a daisy and she slapped him in the face without saying thank you.

James, Penelope, Jaelle, Dragonfly, Mrs. Ladybug, Earthworm, and Mr. Grasshopper walked around the table and bowed at each other. Centipede brought in a large ball of peach and as it rolled down, they quickly turned the pail over before the large ball exploded.

"_It comes to you in barrels if you order it by post."_

As it landed in the pail, some of the peach sloshed on Penelope and James's face and they both fell back.

_"For dinner on my birthday, shall I tell you what I chose?"_ Mr. Grasshopper sang as he took the girl and boy's hand and pulled them up to their feet.

_"Hot noodles made of poodles on a slice of garden hose_," James and Penelope took off the peach slosh and put it back into the pail. Mr. Grasshopper pulled up his pants and stepped into the pail.

"_And a rather smelly jelly made of armadillos toes, _

_The jelly is delicious, but you have to hold your nose."_

He started to squish the peach with his feet and Mrs. Ladybug took out some beer glasses from her purse.

_"I crave the tasty tentacles of octopi for tea," _she started to fill them up which looked like root beer with foam bursting at the top.

"_I like hot dogs, but I like hot frogs and surely you'll agree."_

She tossed the glasses to bug and human and they all caught them.

Penelope took a gulp of the drink and it was extremely delicious and addictive like wine.

_"A plate of soil with engine oil is a super recipe," Mrs. Ladybug sang._

_"Recipe…" _Penelope, James, Dragonfly, and Earthworm sang as they clanked their glasses together and wrapped arms around each other.

_"I hardly need to mention that it's practically free," _Mrs. Ladybug danced and sang.

Everyone danced and chanted 'Peach' and danced around the peach and I was laughing my head off and we were all having fun.

We all sang, _"We hardly need to mention that it's practically free."_

_"Now, come my fellow travelers, the burden of my speech." _Everyone looked up and saw Centipede carrying another giant slab of peach.

"You show off!" Miss Spider called to him.

_"These foods are rare beyond compare and some right out of reach."_ Centipede sang. Suddenly, he lost balance and everyone scattered around and the chunk splattered around and buried them underneath it, except Miss Spider because she was in her pipe.

"Nice aim, Commodore," She smiled and said.

_"But there's no doubt I go without a million plates of each."_ Centipede sang as he landed near Miss Spider's pipe.

"Out of my face!" Miss Spider snapped angrily as she threw her peach beer at him.

_"For one small bite…" _Centipede sang.

_"One small mite…" _Earthworm, Mrs. Ladybug, and Dragonfly appeared from the peach mess on the floor and sang.

_"One tiny bite…" _Centipede sang.

_"Tiny bite of this…" _Mr. Grasshopper, Penelope and James sang.

_"Fantastic… PEACH!" _Centipede turns the handle and peach liquid spilled out of the peach and caused Miss Spider to fall into the pile and they all came up with an amusing idea.

The children and the bugs started to throw peach bits at each other and we all threw them at Centipede and he fell in and we started to throw more peach bits around just like snowball fights and we finished the song with _"This fantastic peach!"_

Penelope was laughing hysterically and having more fun in a very long time. She watched James and Jaelle having so much fun and joy in their hearts.


	9. The Performer

At twilight, the bugs once more sat out to watch the sunset, and Penelope was getting ready for her performance.

"T'e lass is gettin' ready for 'er performance," Dragonfly said.

"Indeed," Mr. Grasshopper said. "I heard the Romani are known for their great acts including singing, dancing, and fortune telling."

"I gotta see that Hocus Pocus!" Centipede said as he stood at the stem.

"You'll like it," James said. "Penelope has been a performer since she was very young."

"It's time! And now it's time for the mysterious gypsy girl to make her debut, dance la Penelope! Dance!"

Penelope appeared from a cloud of purple smoke and she was tapping her tambourine against her hip and she slowly turned around. Her emerald eyes were gleaming in the sunset and began her dance and song.

"_Hey soldier boy,_

_I see how you stare_

_Hey butcher man_

_I see you admire._

_Come gather 'round_

_Hey Jacques and Pierre!_

_Come see me dance_

_To the rhythm of the tambourine!"_

The bugs were admired by the gypsy girl's voice and how she dances. She taps her tambourine at each beat. She then tossed it to James and he hit it and she danced.

"_Flash of an ankle_

_Flip of a skirt."_

Penelope grasped her skirt to pull up slightly and show her ankles as she flipped her skirt.

"_Feel them excite_

_And flame and inspire_

_Come see me dance hey what can it hurt?_

_It's just a dance,_

_To the rhythm of the tambourine!"_

Penelope dance along the peach with her skirt and petticoats twirling around. She imagined the stem as a bonfire. She pulled out two red sashes from her silver pouch and spun them around her as she danced the bugs started cheering and clapping at each beat.

Then the music paced faster as Penelope spun faster and faster. She could hear voice singing about who is she and how she dances like a devil from Hell or an angel.

"_Come on Paris,_

_Before we get old!_

_Come feel the heat._

_Come taste the desire._

_Feel them within you_

_Crimson and gold!_

_Gold like the coins!_

_You will toss into my tambourine!" _Penelope did a front split without pain, making the bugs impressed with her flexibility. She then got up to finish her dance. James tossed back her tambourine.

"_When I dance to the rhythm of the tambourine!"_

Penelope jumped down and threw her arms up grinning as she tapped her tambourine.

After the applause, Penelope bowed and started her next act.

"Merci! Thank you! And now, Jaelle will perform her special trick and she's knows everything. Jaelle, come here girl."

Jaelle walked towards her mistress as Penelope knelt down on her knees and handed out her tambourine.

"Jaelle, tell us what month it is of this year?"

The goat lifted her hoof and tapped the tambourine as Penelope counted.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, if it's six. Then it's June," Penelope turned to James and the bugs. "Is that right?"

"Aye, it is," Dragonfly said impressed with Jaelle's special trick. The bugs were impressed to with the goat.

"The kid's right," Centipede said.

"Impressive," Mr. Grasshopper said.

"Any volunteers to ask Jaelle a question?"

"How 'bout me?" Centipede asked.

"Come right on up Centipede," Penelope said. Centipede got in front of Jaelle.

"Kid, how many days ta go we when we get to New York?"

Jaelle lifted her hoof and tapped the tambourine.

"One," Centipede counted. "One day huh?"

Jaelle nodded.

"Wow! Your kid's amazing!"

Dragonfly stepped forward and knelt in front of the goat.

"Jaelle, what time is it?"

Jaelle lifted her hoof again and tapped the tambourine.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." Then a pause, but the goat lifted her hoof. "One, two, three, four, five. So it is seven-thirty."

The bugs clapped for the goat.

"And now, for the final act," Penelope announced. "James, will you stand forward please?"

James came up and stood next to Penelope.

"With this red cloth," Penelope said as she pulled out the red cloth from her pouch and held it out. "I will use it to make him disappear. Ready James?"

"Ready," he said.

Penelope threw the cloth over James and covered him and she threw another red cloth over Jaelle.

"Now let's see if James or Jaelle disappeared?" Penelope threw off the red cloth and James was gone.

The bugs gasped.

"He's gone!" Dragonfly cried.

"Woah!" Centipede cried.

"And now Jaelle," Penelope pulled off the cloth and Jaelle was gone too.

"Jaelle's gone!" Mrs. Ladybug cried.

"Is James gone?" Glowworm asked.

"Jaelle is gone," Mr. Grasshopper yelled in the megaphone.

"Now they will reappear," Penelope threw the cloths over when James and Jaelle disappeared and once they were pulled off. James and Jaelle reappeared.

The bugs gasped, smiled, and applauded at Penelope's performance as she bowed.

"And that concludes my performance!" The bugs cheered for Penelope and admired her performance.

Centipede walked up to the gypsy girl, he picked her up by the waist and swung her around in the air.

"Penny!" Centipede said. "That was the best performance ever!"

"Very impressive," Mr. Grasshopper said. "You should go for the arts and theater Penelope."

"You think so?"

"Definitely!" Dragonfly said. "You would shine in the stars! Even in 'ollywood!"

"Maybe that's what I'll do," Penelope said smiling. The sun set below the horizon and it was now dark.

"I think it's time for bed," Mrs. Ladybug said. "You dearies need to get some sleep."

"Good night Centipede," Penelope quickly gave Centipede a kiss on the cheek causing him to blush.

"Nighty-night honey-bun," Centipede ruffled her hair and he ruffled James' hair. "Night Jimmy."

* * *

The others bugs filled with their meals were already asleep, the only ones that were still awake were James, Penelope, Jaelle and Miss Spider. Miss Spider was making the web and the children were sitting on two leaves watching Miss Spider weaving it. James and Penelope were both ready for bed, the gypsy girl took off her sandals to relieve her bare feet. She took off her dagger and placed it in her pouch. The boy had his jacket off and his shirt was un-tucked. Jaelle was curled up on her leaf scratching her fur.

Penelope was busy braiding her hair, and she noticed that Miss Spider was very familiar.

"You keep to yourself don't you?" James asked Miss Spider.

"You have your own personal bubble?" Penelope asked.

"I preferred to be alone," Miss Spider said gently.

"We were alone for a long time once." James replied.

"I never realized how emotional it is being alone," Penelope said.

"I think it's much nicer to have friends, don't you?" James asked.

"I would not know," Miss Spider replied with honesty in her voice.

"They'd be your friends too, the others I mean. If you'd just let them," Penelope replied.

"No, it is in their nature to have fear of me," Miss Spider said. "This I cannot change."

"You're very kind to me and Penelope," James said gently, Jaelle bleated. "Especially Jaelle."

Those words warmed Penelope to the core. Miss Spider was kinder to them as if she were their mother.

"That is true," Penelope agreed as she stroked Jaelle.

"Maybe this is because you two and Jaelle were kind to me first," as the Arachnid laid James down and tied her thread around his waist, wrapping his little frame to keep him warm. Penelope and James finally put the puzzle pieces together.

"You were the spider in our window!" James exclaimed, his eyes were both wide and so were Penelope's.

"Mm-hmm." Miss Spider said smoothly as she nodded to them.

"I'm happy we get to see you again." Penelope said to Miss Spider. "I knew it was you all along!"

Jaelle bleated happily.

"You were our first friend!" James said and then his face darkened. "I mean, since Penelope, Jaelle, and I went to live with my aunts. They hated us!"

"Ssshhh!" Miss Spider shushed James and laid a tender finger on the boy's lips.

"Do not think of them now," she said gently and still smiled and continued her weaving.

Penelope knew James would not get his aunts out of his head. The beatings and the tortures they went through were like scars.

"This is terrible," Penelope said as tears were welling up in her eyes.

"But what if they find us?" James asked nervously. "What if we don't make it to New York? We'll die if we have to go back to way we were. They can't make us…"

"No one can make you do anything James and Penelope…" Miss Spider clutched their hands and finished, "If you do not let them…" She covered James with his coat. "You are a brave boy…" she placed her hands gently on his face and kissed him on the forehead.

"And you are a brave girl…" Miss Spider kissed Penelope's forehead, the gypsy girl smiled and as she was laid gently back down. She then stroked Jaelle and hugged the goat.

"Now to sleep," Miss Spider said as she crawled back into her pipe. "You two had a tired making day." She blew out the candle and gave the children one more look and she laid herself down and drifted off to sleep.

James watched the moonbeam shined on his face, he yawned, and drifted off to sleep.

Penelope watched the moon and saw two stars shining bright.

"I know you're looking down on me from Heaven Mama and Papa. I shall keep James and Jaelle under my arm and see that they are safe and happy."

Penelope made a prayer that they will reach New York City tomorrow and she felt exhaustion in her body. She curled up and fell into a deep peaceful sleep for the first time in forever.

* * *

**This song is sung in the Broadway musical of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," Esmeralda sings it at the Feast of Fools and I think I like it more than the old one. More Chapters will be posted soon.**


	10. The Dark Dream

_Penelope was wandering in a field with her goat and they heard music nearby. As curiosity struck her in the heart, she was lured to the music as if she were lured to the rocks by a siren._

_She came above the hill, and saw a group of gypsies playing music. Penelope smiled at the sight, it has been a while since she been around gypsies._

_"Come on Jaelle," Penelope and Jaelle ran down the hill to join the gypsies. They got into the dance and Penelope noticed two people from the crowd._

_"Mama?" Penelope's eyes widened. "Papa?"_

_The couple looked at the girl and their eyes widened in surprise. One man had tan skin with brown eyes and his wife had long black hair with medium skin._

_"Penelope!" They cried and ran towards their daughter._

_"What are you doing here? I thought you both died."_

_"No dear," Charity said. "We maybe dead, but we are in your hearts."_

_"We are very proud of you my child," Aladdin placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead._

_"Come with us…. " Charity and Aladdin took her hands and led her and Jaelle to the dance. Penelope spent the time of her life __back to dancing and performing._

* * *

Everyone was still sleeping in the peach stone, Penelope still sleeping, suddenly, slowly sat up and ripped the tight thread around her legs with her hands. She climbed down the web and slowly walked around the stone with her arms out in front of her as if she were a mummy.

Penelope walked towards the ladder and climbed up. As the girl's foot disappeared, Jaelle woke up and looked at the net and saw that James was still sleeping and her mistress was gone.

The goat could sense that something was not right, she hopped off the web and ran towards Dragonfly sleeping on his hammock and tugged on his kilt with her mouth. She pulled him out of the hammock and he was still in his sleep state.

The goat sighed, knowing she had to wake him up the hard way, she placed her muzzle near his ear.

"BAAAAAA!" Dragonfly yelped and jumped up from his sleep and saw Jaelle.

"Jaelle? It's t'e middle o' t'e night," as Dragonfly slowly opened his big eyes, he saw the net, and James was the only one sleeping.

"Lass?" he asked. "W'ere are ye?"

He flew over to Mr. Grasshopper and shakes him.

"Mr. Grasshopper?" Mr. Grasshopper snored. "Mr. Grasshopper?"

Mr. Grasshopper jumped and saw Dragonfly standing over him.

"Mr. Dragonfly?" Mr. Grasshopper asked as he yawned. "What are you doing up so late?"

"It's t'e Gypsy lass," he pointed towards the net. "She's gone, and I don't know where she went."

"Men," Mrs. Ladybug woke up. "What's Jaelle doing and where's the lass?"

"Beats me," Dragonfly said. "S'e could be outside."

Jaelle bleated and the bugs watched as she stood up on her hind hoofs. She held out her front hoofs and closed her eyes, and snored as she walked.

"Is she... sleep walking?" Mrs. Ladybug asked as Jaelle landed on four feet and nodded. The bugs' eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" Dragonfly was surprised.

"Sleepwalking?" Mr. Grasshopper asked.

"I never knew she sleepwalks," Miss Spider said.

"We better get her back to the web before she gets hurt," Mrs. Ladybug said. "But we can't wake her up, it's dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker."

In her sleep state, Penelope reached to the top of the peach, and Centipede was asleep, she then tripped over his feet and fell forward. Centipede's eyes flew opened and woke up. His eyes widened as he saw the girl getting up and walked down the fence pathway.

"Penny?"

But the girl kept walking.

* * *

_Penelope walked down a hill to follow the gypsies and her parents._

_"Oh what a wonderful day," Penelope said._

_"Come with us Penelope," A gypsy woman said as she smiled. The girl ran to the top of a hill, with her legs feeling like jelly, and saw the other gypsies swimming in a lake._

_"Jump in Penelope," As Penelope was about to jump, everything turned dark and black as demons and flames appeared. Then Sponge and Spiker appeared as witches._

_"Blech!" Spiker yelled in disgust. "Gypsies are disgusting rats! They should all be dead! Catch them Sponge!"_

_Penelope screamed and tried to run, suddenly she was then yanked up by the waist with a black cloud, she was held in front of Spiker and Sponge._

_"We got you, you wench," Sponge said. "Let's throw her in a cage." The fat woman used her hand to flung the girl in a cage turn a lock. Penelope's legs felt like glue as she was chained to a wall._

_"Well, well," Spiker said. "Gypsies should be slaves and never run and hide. Will you be our slave gypsy?"_

_Penelope glared and spat in her face, Spiker glared and backhanded Penelope in the face. Penelope tried to clutch her stung cheek, but the chain won't let her hand tend it._

_"In that case," Spiker than shouted. "Burn her!"_

_Penelope was thrown in a stake of wood. The aunts light their torches and the girl screamed as she was burnt with smoke filling her lungs._

_She was brought to another world of darkness and everything brightened up. There was a huge room and everything and the furniture was huge. She remembered that it was her caravan. Penelope heard loud footsteps and saw Sponge and Spiker coming in, the girl gasped and hid behind a curtain. She watched as the women slipped a poison in her parents' goblets of wine, and they smiled evilly. They left the caravan. Her parents then came in and sat at their table and placed the goblets to their lips._

_"No Mama," Penelope cried. "No Papa! Don't drink them! They're poisoned!"_

_But her parents drank them and they felt dizzy and fell to the floor._

_"Nooo!" Penelope ran to her parents, but a force pulled her away. The ground collapsed and she fell down a chasm to the flames of Hell and saw the Rhino. "Help me!" _

* * *

Penelope was near the end of the fence pathway and she slowly lifted her foot. The bugs and Jaelle exited from the peach.

"Centipede?" Mr. Grasshopper asked. "Have you seen Penelope?"

"I saw her walkin' and she looked like a mummy."

"She's sleep walkin' laddie," Dragonfly said.

"What?" Centipede's blue eyes widened. "If she's sleepwalkin', she's on the fence pathway!"

The bugs gasped in horror, they looked over and their hearts started pounding as they saw the gypsy girl lifting her foot and then she fell as she thrashed her arms.

"Look out Penelope!" Miss Spider cried.

"Someone save her before she gets killed!" Mr. Grasshopper exclaimed.

Dragonfly flew up and then straight towards the falling sleeping girl. As he flew under, he caught Penelope in his arms and flew up to the top.

Penelope let out a scream as she woke up from her nightmare. She felt cold and looked around that the sky was surrounding her. She noticed that she was being carried by someone. She looked up and saw Dragonfly carrying her.

"Dragonfly?" she asked as he flew. "What am I doing outside?"

"Just in t'e nick o' time," Dragonfly said. "If it weren't fer ye goat, ye would 'ave been killed."

He landed on the peach and placed Penelope back on her feet. The bugs sighed in relief that the girl has awoken and she was confused.

"What was I doing outside?" Penelope asked.

"You were sleepwalking Penelope," said Miss Spider.

"I was?" the girl's eyes widened. "I hadn't slept walk before my parents and the Trotters died." Her eyes were starting to water. "Great, now I'm not afraid of that Rhino, I'm afraid of Sponge and Spiker burning me, I had a dream I saw my parents and we were at a festival. But then those witches appeared and were killing all the other gypsies. They even threw me at a stake and burned me! I also dreamt they put poison in my parents drinks, and then I tumbled into the flames of Hell seeing the Rhino," tears dripped down her cheeks. "I have a horrible feeling that Sponge and Spiker poisoned them. I think they killed them!"

Dragonfly hugged the sobbing gypsy girl close to his chest.

"There, there, my child," Mr. Grasshopper patted Penelope on the back. "Don't you worry about them, I promise you that when we reach New York, we shall contact the authorities and place those aunts in prison."

"We will protect you from those 'ags," Dragonfly said. "My dear lassie,"

"You promise?" Penelope looked up with blood-shot eyes and tear stained cheeks. "And also to protect James and Jaelle?"

"We promise," Miss Spider said holding Penelope's hand firmly.

"No worries, sweetie," Centipede said. "I'll give 'em hags a deck in the nose."

"Thank you," Penelope smiled at the bugs.

"Let's get you to bed Penelope," Mr. Grasshopper said.

Dragonfly scooped up the girl in his arms in bridal style and flew her down in the peach. Mr. Grasshopper picked up Jaelle and carried her down and set her on the glove.

Miss Spider placed the blanket over Penelope, and she kissed her forehead. The bugs said good night and went back to sleep. Jaelle licked her mistress and she curled in her sleep. Penelope then immediately drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**So yes, I thought I add a little more drama with Penelope instead of screaming and waking up the others, she sleepwalks just like Anya in "Anastasia". But it reminds of the nightmare where Anya jumps overboard and Penelope nearly jumps off the fence and Dragonfly saves her. **

**There's more to the story!**


	11. The Arctic and Compass

_In James's dream, he was a light green caterpillar with black and white stripes, with orange spots, rosy cheeks and red antennas. As he was eating a peach, he heard a loud sound and he looked up and gasped as he saw an old car driving on a bridge and it stopped and he saw Spiker looking at him and she said to Sponge, _

_"Look! The little maggot is stuffing his face with our peach! Get him Sponge."_

_"Ahhh!" James screamed as he jumped behind the peach._

_"You can't crawl away from us!" Sponge said as she proofed out some smoke filled with lightning and it started to follow James._

_James ran for his life on the stone wall, and the smoke was gaining on him. He jumped on a tree branch and kept sprinting from the smoke. He heard he aunts chanting, "The rhino will get you! The rhino will get you!"_

_He ran through a broken can and jumped in a hole to hide. He was trapped and the smoke headed straight towards him and there was the rhino charging towards him with his yellow eyes staring at him, the very same rhino that killed his mother and father._

_James screamed as the dreamed ended._

* * *

The next morning, Penelope woke up and rubbed her eyes and felt very cold. She noticed snow was coming down.

The girl turned around and saw James shuddering from his dream, she gently shook him and he woke up and gasped.

"James are you okay?" she asked hugging James.

"Yes, I think so," James hugged her.

"Don't worry, it was only a dream," she said.

James sat up freezing. He put his coat on to stay warm and Penelope put her sandals on. She put her dagger back on the side wrapping around her calf. Jaelle shook the frost off of her coat and stretched her legs.

The children looked up at the lantern and saw Glowworm shivering. Penelope wrapped her sarong around her shoulders to keep warm. James, Penelope and Jaelle climbed out of the hole to see where they are. They were both shocked to see that they were not in New York City.

They were in the Arctic filled with icebergs, a graveyard of sunken pirate ships that were broken and the wood was rotting away and ships made of steel also.

Penelope felt shivers coming up and down her spine at the sight. She saw the pieces of cracked ice in the water and looked up to see the seagulls still flying with their bodies and wings frozen almost like frozen statues.

"This is an outrage!" James and Penelope were startled by the shouting, which reminded them of Spiker and Sponge yelling at them.

The voice was none other than Mr. Grasshopper. The boy, girl, and goat looked over and saw Mr. Grasshopper, Mrs. Ladybug, Dragonfly and Earthworm cornering Centipede on the fence pathway.

"You are a disgrace to your phylum, class, order, genus, and species!" Mr. Grasshopper shouted to Centipede in a way to scold a person.

"Say it in English!" Centipede shot back at Mr. Grasshopper.

"You, sir, are an ass!" Mr. Grasshopper shouted back at Centipede.

"Where are we?" asked James. "What's going on?"

"What is the meaning of this?" Penelope asked the others as she tightened her sarong around her shoulders.

"I found this dime-store Timmy asleep at the helm," Mr. Grasshopper said to them evenly as he raised his voice as he poked Centipede in the chest. "Now we're lost!"

"We are not lost!" Centipede snapped back.

"Then where are we?" asked Mr. Grasshopper impatiently.

"Somewhere north, or possibly very, very far south."

"What's your latitude? What's your longitude?"

"W'at is ye north, south, east and west?" Dragonfly asked.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Centipede yelled. "That's personal, bub."

"You said you could navigate!" Said Mr. Grasshopper sharply.

"You said you traveled the world," said Mrs. Ladybug.

"You said you'd been to Bora Bora!" said Earthworm.

"Well, not Bora Bora, per se, uh—" Centipede trailed off as he backed up from Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, Mrs. Ladybug, and Earthworm.

"What about the shores of Tripoli?" Miss Spider asked.

"Did I say Tripoli?" asked Centipede and he chuckled. "I meant the Halls of Montezuma."

"That's what you said," said Earthworm angrily.

"Never have I heard such mendacity!" shouted Mr. Grasshopper, who is getting angrier.

"Charlatan!" shouted Mrs. Ladybug.

"Liar!" Dragonfly shouted.

"Wait!" shouted James and tried to reason with Centipede.

"Enough!" Penelope yelled.

"If he says he's seen the world, then he's seen the world. Right, Mr. Centipede? Right?"

"Is this true Mr. Centipede?" Penelope asked firmly.

"Well… I did used to live between two pages of a National Geographic."

"Huh?" Asked James.

"What?" Penelope asked as her green eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

Everyone gasped and learned that Centipede lied to them about traveling around the world.

"Very informative magazine, National Geographic," Centipede said. "Wonderful pictures."

"You incompetent, blithering nitwit!" Mr. Grasshopper lost his temper.

Centipede put down his cigar and got himself ready to fight Mr. Grasshopper.

"All right hoppy! Them's fightin' words. Put 'em up! Put 'em up! Come on!" Centipede yelled and made punching moves with encouragement, "Gimme your best shot."

Then all of a sudden, Mr. Grasshopper kicked Centipede hard in the jaw with his left leg.

"Whoa. Good shot," Centipede fell back and said while rubbing his cheek, He spit out a loose tooth and looked at Penelope and James. "Did you see what he did to me?"

"Hmph! Serves ya right," Mrs. Ladybug sternly as she, Mr. Grasshopper, and Earthworm turned around without helping Centipede up. Dragonfly stood there glaring at him.

"Dragonfly…." Centipede said. "Please… I."

"I can't believe ye," Dragonfly snapped. "I t'ought ye were me best friend. Ye are an idiot!" He then stormed off.

Jaelle came up to him and charged at him in the stomach. The goat then ran back up and tears leaked from her eyes.

"What do we do now?" James asked. "Which way do we go?"

"Is there any other way we can get out of this frozen hole?" Penelope asked.

"Oh it's very simple, really," Mr. Grasshopper said. "All we need to do is to determine our coordinates, then use triangulation to chart a direct route to New York."

"Then there's hope," said Earthworm.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Mr. Grasshopper as he poked Earthworm in the nose and finished his sentence. "There's no hope at all! We don't have a compass."

"We'll never reach New York," Earthworm said sadly. "We're gonna be stuck here forever. We're gonna be frozen like living statues."

"_Dead _living statues," said Mr. Grasshopper.

"No dark hiding places," said Ms. Spider sadly.

"No new inventions," Dragonfly said sadly.

"No cozy leaf in the park," replied Mrs. Ladybug with sadness in her voice.

"No city where dreams come true," said James sadly.

"No freedom, hope, and a new life," Penelope said as tears were rolling down her cheeks. She took out her handkerchief and dried her eyes

"Don't ships have compasses?" James asked.

"No doubt. But to brave those icy waters…" Mr. Grasshopper said. "Would mean certain death. Only a fool would do it."

The Romani girl walked over to the side to see Centipede filled with regret at every word the others said. Filled with determination, he put his cap on his head and his cigar in his mouth.

"Geronimo!" he dove off the pathway fence and landed in the water. The others heard the splash and came over to where the girl was standing.

"What? What was that?" cried Earthworm.

"The Centipede jumped in!" Penelope cried.

The others gasped in shock, "Good heavens!" cried Mr. Grasshopper. "He's committed pesticide. Oh, this is all my doing."

He leaned forward sadly and as he blamed himself for what he did with Centipede.

"Don't take all the credit," said Earthworm and blamed him self too and said, "I helped too."

"Don't blame ye selves, I did it too!" Dragonfly said.

"I have to go after him!" said James with determination.

"Not on your life," but Mrs. Ladybug put her hand on James's shoulder. "You'll catch your death in cold."

"But he's my friend," James said and Penelope knew he was advocating for himself.

"Of course he's our friend, James," Penelope said. "We must save him, or he'll freeze to death down there."

"James and Penelope are right," Miss Spider agreed. "Centipede is one of us. Get on my back. I'm going with you."

"I'm coming with you too," Penelope said as James climbed on Miss Spider's back.

Penelope wrapped took the sarong off and wrapped it around her waist and she climbed on Miss Spider's back.

"Come on Jaelle," the goat hopped into Penelope's arms.

"You had better take good care of them," Mrs. Ladybug said.

"This I promise," said Miss Spider. Penelope helped James with the string from Miss Spider and they tossed it to Mrs. Ladybug and the others, and they started to tie the string up to the stem.

"Stay by the line," James said. "And when you feel two tugs, pull us up."

"We'll be back in fifteen to twenty minutes," Penelope said.

Miss Spider jumped off the peach and we were lowered into the water.

Once James, Penelope, Jaelle, and Miss Spider were in the water, they could see and breathe underwater. The girl felt that the crocodile tongues were helping them breathe underwater.

Miss Spider swam deeper into the water. James, Penelope, and Jaelle looked around and saw a figurehead that looks exactly like Spiker and Sponge.

They kept swimming and a thought came into the girl's head.

"You don't suppose that Centipede was trying to find a compass right?" Penelope asked. "He must have felt bad for himself after lying to us and wanted to make things right and prove himself. With all those sunken ships, I remember that pirates use compasses to help navigate in seas."

"You could be right Penelope," James said. "No matter what mistakes he or we make, he still counts as our friend."

"Let's keep going, I can sense him nearby," Miss Spider said and they swam down into the deep dark sea.


	12. Skeleton Pirates

Centipede reached the sunken pirate, he walked on the deck and whistled a tune as he opened the door that goes into the captain's cabin. Sitting at the desk was a dead skeleton pirate captain sitting at his desk.

"A skellington?" he was astonished.

Centipede tip toed up to the desk slowly and when he reached it he noticed the dead captain was leaning over an object. He took out his cigar and blew on top of the desk and it showed a glowing object that had an arrow pointing north.

"Jackpot! A genuine compass!" he exclaimed with a smile.

Centipede put the cigar back in his mouth and lifted the captain's arm and it made a squeaking sound as if he were rusted and lifted his head.

"Sounds like you need a little oil, Captain."

The captain fell forward as if he fell asleep and the giant incest took the compass.

"Thank you, sir! I'll be shovin' off now," Centipede lifted his arm like a soldier. As he walked away carrying the compass and smiling, he was hoping that Hoppy and the others would feel sorry for themselves for what they did to him and apologize. He would also apologize to them too.

Centipede thought he was getting somewhere but he felt that something was pulling back on his suspenders. Centipede looked back and saw the skellington pirate captain and he's alive! He was growling and holding on to his suspenders tightly.

"Ahh! I should've worn a belt!" Centipede scolded him self and ran out of the door hoping to escape. As he got there, dead ghost skeleton pirates appeared.

"Holy shipwreck!" Centipede screamed as he was pulled back into the creepy arms of the captain and he smiled evilly planning to do something bad.

* * *

James, Penelope, Miss Spider, and Jaelle swam down into the sea, they spotted a pirate ship.

"I'll bet Centipede's there," Penelope said with her heart.

"Let's find him," James said.

Miss Spider swam to the crow's nest and after landing, James, Penelope, and Jaelle got down from Miss Spider's back and the arachnid tied the string to the mast.

Jaelle bleated quietly as she was warning them.

James and Penelope looked over on the side of the crow's nest with Jaelle. They saw Centipede being stretched over the platform by ghost pirates with a compass on his stomach and he was screaming in pain.

Miss Spider came to them to see what was happening and looked at each other and gasped. They watched him begging for mercy.

"Listen fellas," Centipede said. "I've got a long history of back problems and I don't need it any longer! The captain took the compass off of Centipede's stomach. The pirates kept stretching him longer, he screamed in pain and they could hear his bones cracking.

"Hey, that one felt pretty good," Centipede chuckled.

Then another gigantic skeleton viking walked up and carried an axe and as he growled,

"It's Paul Bunyan coming to cut me some slack," Centipede laughed. The pirate raised his axe above his head and Penelope's heart started to beat faster. "Whoa! Hey, pal, you're aiming' a little low," Centipede said calmly and he screamed, "HE'S GONNA CUT ME IN HALF!"

Penlope looked at James with terrified eyes and saw him and Jaelle jump off the crow's nest and landed on the viking skeleton's back and he fell forward and went overboard off the ship.

Miss Spider and Penelope jumped off the mast at the same time.

"Hey, sailors!" Miss Spider called. "Looking for some kicks?" She landed on the winch and kicked the pirates in the heads with her legs. Penelope landed down on her feet and she pulled out her dagger. She sliced a pirate's leg and her toppled over. She kicked a skeleton pirate and yelled, "HI-YAAA!"

Jaelle charged at the other pirates and bucked them with her hooves sending them overboard. After the winches loosened Centipede, he fell down into the platform.

"Cut me loose," he called.

James to the side and tried to pull out the axe and as Penelope helped him, they did not see the pirate captain coming towards them from behind.

Jaelle bleated at kicked him. After the children pulled the axe out, it hit the captain and his head fell off, he grabbed the rope and pulled up Centipede.

"Get the compass!" he called.

As the captain was looking for his head, the compass was rolling over to the side of the ship and before it fell Miss Spider caught it just in time.

"I've got it." She called to them.

"Wonderful Miss Spider!" Penelope called.

Out of the blue, an eskimo skeleton appeared with a spear and yelled, "Ubutu!"

"Look out!" a voice called.

Miss Spider turned around and saw the eskimo skeleton coming towards her. She jumped high and the eskimo skeleton fell forward with his spear sticking in the floor as the arachnid came down.

He let go of the spear and Miss Spider went spinning forward and yelled, "Whoa-oo!"

One of the skeleton pirates grabbed his friend's hands and used them to grab the compass out of Miss Spider's hands.

Just as the captain put his head back on, Ms. Spider crashed into him and his head flew back into the pirate's hands knocking out the compass.

"Gotcha!" James caught the compass.

Then a skeleton parrot flew and grabbed the compass. Penelope ran over to James and helped him pull the compass from the skeleton parrot but he flew away with it.

"Polly want a smacker?" Centipede yelled as he crashed into the parrot and.

The parrot crashed into the wall with his beak stuck. Centipede grabbed the compass and Penelope around the waist and they both swung up to the crow's nest.

"Look out!" he called out to Miss Spider, James, and Jaelle.

The pirate attacked them and Miss Spider kicked the pirate with her leg and Penelope watched them crawl up the ladder to the crow's nest.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, Mrs. Ladybug and Earthworm stood near the line and heard the others in the sea screaming.

"Sounds like big trouble!" Earthworm exclaimed.

"I can 'ear 'em!" Dragonfly called. "Centipede must be there!"

"Get ready to pull!" Mr. Grasshopper exclaimed.

The bugs grabbed the string and prepared themselves, if they feel two tugs.

* * *

Back in the sea, the others were exhausted as they climbed the crow's nest and prepare the escape.

"I got a good one for ya," Centipede said as he helped James, Jaelle and Miss Spider into the crow's nest with Penelope and he untied the string. "Why don't skeletons play music in church?"

They watched the pirates climbing up and Penelope felt her blood and adrenaline speeding and froze to ice. The gypsy girl held on to James and Jaelle tighter.

" 'Cause they got no organs!" Centipede got on top of Miss Spider and laughed and pulled the string two times with the sound of a bell ringing. Miss Spider grabbed the children and the goat. James was holding on to the compass and they were yanked up.

Then the pirate captain jumped up and was about to stab James with his sword. Centipede was in between James and the captain. He and the captain fell into the crow's nest. James, Penelope, Miss Spider, and Jaelle watched him fight the other pirates and all cried out at the same time, "Noooo!"

They were hoisted out of the water, and they were all shivering.

"Oh, thank goodness! You're all right!" Mrs. Ladybug called to them with relief.

"What happened to Centipede?" Asked Mr. Grasshopper as we reached the fence pathway.

"He found a compass for us," said Ms. Spider.

"And a shipload of pirates!" cried James.

"Pirates?" Dragonfly asked.

"Skeleton pirates to be exact!" Penelope cried out.

As the children got off of Miss Spider, Mrs. Ladybug wrapped blankets around them. She even threw a blanket over Jaelle. Dragonfly hugged Penelope close and rubbed her shoulders to warm her.

"Hold this," Miss Spider shoved the compass into Earthworm's mouth. "I am going back."

"Do be careful, Miss Spider," said Mr. Grasshopper.

The children and the bugs watched Miss Spider landing on the ice and just as she was about to dive in, Centipede's cap resurfaced.

Miss Spider gasped and she took the cap. She turned to them as a tear slid down her cheek. It shocked Penelope and the others. It turned out Centipede is dead.

"Poor Centipede," Mr. Grasshopper said sadly as he knelt down in sorrow,

"He saved our lives down there," said James.

"We can all forgive him for what he did," Penelope said sadly and she hugged Jaelle.

Their mourning was cut short when a pirate's hat resurfacing with a sword.

"Look out!" cried James.

"Miss Spider!" cried Mrs. Ladybug.

"They're back!" Dragonfly exclaimed.

Miss Spider gasped and backed away. It turned out that it was Centipede dressed as a general!

"Centipede!" James cried.

"You're alive!" Penelope placed a hand to her chest as her heartbeat slowed down and felt relief.

"How am I lookin' kids?" he asked them grinning.

"You look very handsome!" Penelope called to him with a smile on her face.

Miss Spider walked up to him angrily acting the jeepers out of Centipede and pressed the sword against Centipede's throat.

"Centipede, I do not know whether to kill you or…" she put the sword down and kissed Centipede on the cheek and then smiled, "Kiss you."

Penelope giggled as Centipede blushed.

After pulling Centipede and Miss Spider to the fence pathway, Mr. Grasshopper and Dragonfly admitted to him.

"I'm so sorry," Mr. Grasshopper said.

"Hey, I'm sorry," said Centipede.

"My sincere apologies," Mr. Grasshopper said.

"Sorry Dragonfly," Centipede said.

"I am sorry too," Dragonfly said firmly as he gave a glare. "But don't ye ever do t'at again."

"I won't," Centipede said.

"I know," Dragonfly hugged him and Centipede blushed.

Centipede turned to Mr. Grasshopper.

"I just wanna apologize."

"I just wanted to say—"

"What I'm tryin' to say—"

"That's enough chitchat!" Earthworm interrupted and he had the pirate's hat on his head. "I'm freezin'!"

Penelope and Jaelle walked up to James. The boy placed the compass on the stem.  
"Hello? The compass is ready!"

"Oh wonderful! Let's leave this frozen graveyard and head to New York City!" Penelope said to James with excitement. "But wait?" she then frowned. "James did you say, 'look out' earlier?"

"No," he said shaking his head. "Neither Miss Spider."

"I did," a voice said. The children's eyes widened and they turned to Jaelle.

"Jaelle?" Penelope asked. "Was that you?"

"Yes," Jaelle said. "It was me."

"You can talk!" James cried. "It must be that crocodile tongue!"

"Yes, it was."

"Mr. Centipede, would you please do us the honor of navigating us out of this icebox?" Mr. Grasshopper asked and bowed with courtesy.

"It would be my pleasure," Centipede said.

"Let's get outta 'ere," Dragonfly said. He, Mr. Grasshopper, Centipede, and Earthworm walked up the fence pathway to join the children.

"I admire your bravery, Ms. Spider," Mrs. Ladybug said kindly as she took out another blanket and she threw it on Ms. Spider's back. "I really do." Miss Spider turned to her and said with a smile,

"Why… thank you, Mrs. Ladybug," Miss Spider said as she was touched by these words.

Penelope and Jaelle turned to the other side and saw James, Centipede, Mr. Grasshopper and Earthworm gathering around the peach stem.

"You guys ready to get out of here?" Jaelle asked.

The bugs jumped as she spoke.

"You're talkin' kid?" Centipede asked.

"Impossible," Mr. Grasshopper said.

"Yes, I finally found the courage to talk thanks to that crocodile tongue," Jaelle said.

"You were a good girl," Dragonfly knelt down and stroked the goat. "I 'ad the feel in' t'at ye would talk."

"Thank you Dragonfly," Jaelle smiled and licked his face.

"All right, boys, coffee break's over," Centipede leaped onto the stem and grabbed the strings the seagulls were on and as he shook the strings, the ice came off of the seagulls and they flew better. The peach was turned to the direction west.

"I'm looking forward to a hopping good time…" Mr. Grasshopper said. "In the Big Apple Mr. Centipede."

"You said it, Mr. Grasshopper," said Centipede.

"Absolutely," Dragonfly said.

The peach flew out of the Arctic and everything started to warm up around in their surroundings and now they were back on course to the city where dreams come true. Everyone was looking forward to New York City.


	13. One Day, Someday, Soon

Penelope slowly opened her eyes and noticed her head was resting on someone's lap, she saw the colors of red, yellow, green, and blue. She looked up to see it was Dragonfly, she sat up and yawned, she felt the golden sun glowing through her dark completion and the summer breeze blowing in her hair.

" 'Ow was yer nap lass?"

"It was good," Penelope said. "I hadn't got good sleep in a few months."

"Oh t'at's good," he smiled. "We'll be arrivin' to New York very soon."

"So Penelope," Mr. Grasshopper asked. "How did you and James meet?"

"Well I met James's parent when I was five and back when my parents were alive. My family and I were struggling to find a home, but the security wouldn't allow us to settle anywhere, she the Trotter's allowed us to stay as long as we like," the girl took out a photo of her family in front of the caravan.

Her father, Aladdin, had black hair, with dark skin, and green eyes. He wore a white shirt with a brown vest, a gold hoop earring, black pants, and brown boots.

Her mother, Charity had olive skin with long black hair tied back with a blue headband and had big brown eyes. She wore a blue bodice with a white shirt and a long dark blue skirt with black flats. She wore silver hoop earrings, the necklace Penelope wore, silver bracelets, and an anklet around her left ankle. Penelope stood in the middle as a little girl wearing a white shirt, a pink coat, and a light blue skirt.

"During the depression and the second world war, gypsies were sent to concentration camps and we ended up killed and executed, my parents hated to see my people suffer, so did James's parents. Then, they started to harbor gypsies and helped them out and showed kindness and compassion. Nothing was stolen from them. My parents also performed on the streets by dancing and playing music to earn more coins and pounds. We even performed at festivals."

Penelope smiled at the memories.

"I got Jaelle for my birthday when I was seven, she has been my best friend since," Penelope stroked Jaelle.

Penelope was pulling out cards as she read fortunes and each symbol. She remembered her mother telling fortunes and reading palms of people.

"What are those cards lass?" Dragonfly asked. Penelope looked up and saw Dragonfly standing in front of her, and he sat across from her.

"They are taloot cards," Penelope said as she folded them. "Mama taught me how to read fortunes to other people. Why don't I read a few?"

The girl shuffled the cards and cut them and started to slip them down to read.

"For Centipede, I see him running for Mayor in New York City, and making it," Penelope said. "And he asks for Miss Spider's hand in marriage."

Centipede and Miss Spider blushed. The others gasped.

"I guess that is true," Centipede said.

"For Miss Spider," she drew another card. "I see her opening a club in New York called the Spider Club."

"Yes, that's my dream," Miss Spider said.

"For Mr. Grasshopper, I see him performing in the New York City Orchestra as a profession violinist."

"That's right my dear," Mr. Grasshopper nodded as Penelope drew more cards.

"For Earthworm, I see him as a mascot for a really soft cream commercial."

Earthworm nodded and blushed.

"For Glowworm, I see her becoming the lighter for the Statue of Liberty."

She drew more cards.

"I see Dragonfly creating amazing inventions that no one could ever invent," Dragonfly nodded when she said that.

James sat nearby hearing Penelope telling fortunes, he smiled as his best friend and sister was acting kind to the other bugs and foretelling the future. He felt that Penelope was the kindest friend he ever had and she never raised her voice at him and stood up for him when he was bullied.

Jaelle nuzzled his side and he petted the goat and walked towards them. Penelope was drawing more of her final cards.

"I see James being with the family that will love him and treat him like a son," Penelope looked at them smiling as James came up and she nodded. "You."

The bugs gasped in surprise but they grinned.

"Is that true James?"

"Yes it is!" Penelope hugged James.

"Mine too and Jaelle!" Penelope looked at her cards once more. "I see myself in Hollywood performing in movies and singing in concerts with Jaelle as my sidekick."

"Ye are surprisin' lass, you're not what I expected," Dragonfly said. "Ye are not really evil, like the other gypsies."

"Who told you that?"

"Me dad, an' me mum," Dragonfly said. "Other bugs are gypsies, they said they are thieves and not so trustworthy. But you are kind and good and…"

"And a gypsy," Penelope said. "But I'm not entirely free."

"But you're away from Sponge and Spiker," Mrs. Ladybug said.

"But not freedom," Penelope said and repeated what Aunt Spiker said. " As if I said earlier, Gypsies don't do well inside stone walls and Europe. Sponge and Spiker hate all gypsies and want them all dead."

"Why would these women want to wipe out fortune tellers and palm readers?" Mr. Grasshopper asked.

"I don't know," Penelope said. "But I heard that Gypsies are hated because they have dark skin, my ancestors are all from India. Sponge and Spiker hated them because five years ago, when they were in Rome, they were robbed by others gypsies and they hated them ever since and insulted my family."

"Hey," Centipede said. 'Why didn't those biddies apologized?"

"Well, when they visited, they were so selfish, cruel, and uncaring. They hated James's mother for harboring gypsies and believe that they are dangerous and known for witchcraft."

"Witchcraft?" Earthworm asked.

"We're not really witches," Penelope said. "But we only use illusions and trapdoors to perform, even the poof I made last night, was only a pebble of dust."

"Exactly," James said. "I know Penelope is not a witch. She is the most kindest friend I ever met."

"Speaking of which, I need to stretch," Penelope fascinated the others as she started stretching, and she did a side split.

"Does it hurt when you do that?" Centipede asked.

"Not really," Penelope then did a handstand and walked on her hands. She then landed on her feet without a slip. "But stretching at a young age was worth it."

"Whooo!" Dragonfly whistled.

"I dream of becoming a movie actress, singer, and dancer in Hollywood."

"A very fascinating dream dearie," Mrs. Ladybug said. "Speaking of dreams, you said that last night that those women killed your parents?"

Penelope frowned as she sat down.

"Well yes," she said. "I saw them slipping arsenic in their drinks, I was shrunk and I tried to warn my parents, not to drink them. But they couldn't hear me and they fell over. I wished I have proof that it was murder, if only I was the witness."

"In fact there is," Penelope's eyes widened and turned to Jaelle.

"You knew?" Centipede asked.

"Yes, I was hiding in the closet and saw Sponge and Spiker slipping the poison," she sighed. "I tried to stop them, but they locked me in the closet. When your parents got home, I saw them drinking and I tried to warn them, but they didn't listen. Then five minutes later, they fell over and died."

"Oh my God," Penelope said as her eyes watered but she held them in. "I knew it was murder all along!"

"Well Jaelle," Mr. Grasshopper said. "If we set up the trial, you could be the witness and you have the proof."

"Thank you Mr. Grasshopper," Jaelle said as she licked his face.

If it wasn't for you," James said. "They'd be no proof."

"Thanks," Jaelle said.

"You'll be free once we're in New York," Miss Spider said. "And we'll give you two and James a life you two deserved."

"Thank you, we love you for your caring and pure souls," the bugs nodded and smiled.

"Come on James and Jaelle."

Penelope, James, and Jaelle got up and walked down the fence pathway to see look at the sky more.

"Can you believe we're getting closer to New York?" Jaelle asked.

"Yes," the children said.

"I hope nothing goes wrong," James said.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Penelope said as she hugged James close. "We'll contact the authorities and they could lock up Spiker and Sponge for good."

"You said it Penelope," said James and the three read the Travel book.

"Change did come," Penelope said. "It was one day, then someday, and finally soon."


	14. We're Family

James, Penelope, and the Giant Peach Chapter 14

In the late night, the peach flew above the clouds and Centipede was standing at the stem looking at the compass and made sure the compass is pointing east. Centipede was starting to yarn and was about to doze off.

"Oh boy, what I wouldn't do for a cup of coffee," he said to himself as he nearly dozed off, he jiggled his head and hit himself in the face to keep himself awake and muttered, "A cup of joe."

The hole opened and Mr. Grasshopper came out with a chair made from a match holder and a blanket.

"I say, old sport, came to relieve you of your duties."

"I said I'd steer the peach," Centipede yawned. "Have to steer the peach."

Centipede yawned as Mr. Grasshopper placed the chair down and laid Centipede down onto the chair.

"Can't quit… now," muttered Centipede.

"Good show, old boy," said Mr. Grasshopper as he covered Centipede with the blanket.

"Thanks… Mr. Grasshopper," Centipede muttered as he fell into a deep sleep. Mr. Grasshopper took out his violin and played soft music.

James, Penelope and Jaelle sat on the fence pathway. Penelope looked at the stars and James looked into his travel book with Jaelle.

"We must be getting close," Penelope said to James. Suddenly, her gut didn't feel right. "James, Jaelle, I can't shake the feeling that something horrible could happen to us and our friends."

"What do you mean Penelope?" Jaelle asked knowing her mistress is upset.

James looked up from his travel book and looked at Penelope.

"Oh Penelope, don't worry," he said. "What we went through was scary, but amazing. I feel more courageous every minute. If only we could stand up to Sponge and Spiker."

"I know James. Someday we will stand up to them. Besides we escaped from Sponge and Spiker and the hill, we floated in the Atlantic Ocean, defeated a Robot shark and fought against skeleton pirates. We even had amazing moments." Penelope smiled at James and they continued to look through the travel book.

"Everything is going to be fine," Jaelle said. "We're far away from our prison and those witches."

"Thanks Jaelle," James said as he petted her.

All of a sudden beautiful violin music was playing softly, James and Penelope thought about it and they walked up the fence pathway and the girl thought to herself, "Who could be playing that beautiful music? It sounds so familiar."

As the children and goat reached the top, they saw Mr. Grasshopper playing his violin as Centipede was still sleeping.

"That music!" James and Penelope cried at the same time.

Mr. Grasshopper jumped up and he realized it was the children.

"Oh sir James! Penelope! Jaelle! Did…did I disturb you three? So sorry, I'll… I'll put this away."

Mr. Grasshopper was about to put his violin away in his case and Penelope cried out, "Oh no, please don't!"

"No, no!" Cried James. "We like it! We used to hear it at my aunt's house before we went to sleep."

"You're pretty smart young James and young Penelope."

They both gasped.

"So that was you, wasn't it?" Playing that music or do all grasshoppers play music?" Asked James.

"Do they really make their own music?" Penelope asked.

"How can they amok their music?" Jaelle asked.

"All grasshoppers…try." Mr. Grasshopper said to them. "I'm sure you've heard this."

He lied on his back and rubbed his legs together and made a sound just like crickets, James, Penelope, and Jaelle nodded as they remembered hearing the sound at night.

"We hear that sometimes," Penelope said to Mr. Grasshopper.

"Ghastly isn't it? Cricket stuff," said Mr. Grasshopper. "Music should be the voice of the soul."

James and Penelope raised an eyebrow.

"What does that mean?" Asked James.

"Yes please show us," Jaelle said to Mr. Grasshopper.

"It means when I'm happy, my music sounds like this." Mr. Grasshopper played his music in a joyful sound making James, Penelope, and Jaelle smile and nod their heads to the song and after finishing his song, they clapped.

"Fascinating," Jaelle said.

"When I'm sad, it's like this…"

He played a slow, but a classical tune like a song at a funeral. The children both frowned and Penelope felt her eyes filled with tears.

"When I was sad, I used to climb in bed with my mum and dad," James said as his eyes were filled with tears and he quickly dried them away. "But that was a long time ago."

"When I had a nightmare and couldn't sleep, my Mama and Papa would light a candle and sing a soothing lullaby to comfort me and Jaelle too," Penelope said as she used her handkerchief to wipe away her tears. "I lost them a long time ago, and I lost my second parents too. I loved both of them so much."

"They were wonderful people," Jaelle said.

Mr. Grasshopper placed a hand on James's shoulder and his other hand on Penelope's shoulder too.

"I'm sure they'd be very proud of you, James and Penelope. I know we are."

He hopped up on the stem and started to play a song on his violin in an upbeat tune and the others inside the peach woke up.

_"Take a little time," _Mr. Grasshopper sang and danced.

_Just look at where we are,_

_We've come very, very, far together._

_"And if I might say so," _Mr. Grasshopper leaned towards them.

Centipede woke up and joined Mr. Grasshopper.

_"And if I might say so too," _Centipede sang as he threw the blanket off.

_"We wouldn't have got anywhere if it weren't for you, boy and girl." _Mr. Grasshopper and Centipede sang as they both bowed to the children.

James and Penelope pointed to themselves and looked at each other. They grinned as they pointed at each other.

_"Love is the sweetest thing, " _Mrs. Ladybug came out of the hole.

_"Love never comes just when you think it will," _Earthworm sang as he slithered out of the hole.

"_Love is like an open door," _Dragonfly sang as he stepped out.

_"Love is the way we feel for you," _Miss Spider came out last and sang gently.

_"We're family," _sang Mr. Grasshopper.

"_We're family," _Centipede, Dragonfly, and Mr. Grasshopper sang together.

_"We're family!" _The others sang with them.

_"All of us," _sang Miss Spider.

_"And you!" _Mr. Grasshopper sang as he hopped up.

Up in the sky above the seagulls were two acrobats swinging on trapeze bars and when they let go of the bar, they grabbed their hands and flipped and grabbed the trapeze bars.

_"Think of where we'd be if we were on our own…" _Centipede sang as he was upside down.

"We'd be dead!" cried Earthworm

_"You're what holds us all together," _sang Mrs. Ladybug.

"We are?" James, Penelope, and Jaelle asked at the same time.

"Exactly," Dragonfly said.

_"And if I might say so," _sang Centipede.

_"And if we might say so too," _sang Mr. Grasshopper and Mrs. Ladybug.

_We never could love anyone as much as…" _Sang Mr. Grasshopper.

_"We love you!" _Everyone sang as they gathered around the children and hugged them.

_"Love!" _Glowworm appeared and sang.

_"Is the strangest thing!" _Centipede and Miss Spider sang.

_"Love!" _sang Glowworm.

_"Does exactly what it wants to do!" _Mr. Grasshopper sang and Mrs. Ladybug as they walked towards Glowworm.

_"Love!" _sang Glowworm as Centipede, Dragonfly, and Mr. Grasshopper helped Glowworm out.

_"Boy, ya know it's true!"_ Centipede and Dragonfly sang as he and Mr. Grasshopper put Glowworm down.

_"We're family! We're family! We're family!" _Everyone danced around the peach.

_"Me!" _Sang Mr. Grasshopper.

_"Me!" _Sang Mr. Centipede.

"_Me!" _Sang Dragonfly.

_"Me!" _Sang Earthworm.

_"Me!" _Sang Mrs. Ladybug.

_"Me!" _Sang Glowworm.

_"And you!" _Sang everyone.

_"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust!" _Miss Spider sang as a dust figure beat a drum,and the drummer poured glitter on Miss Spider.

_"Without you there'd be no of us," _Everyone sang as Mr. Grasshopper picked up James and placed him on the stem and Dragonfly picked up Penelope and placed her on the stem as he and the others kept singing.

_"Love… is the sweetest thing._

_Love… does exactly what it wants to do! _

_Love… is the way we feel for you!_

_We're family. We're family."_

_"We're family." _James and Penelope sang together.

_"Me."_

_"And…" _Mr. Grasshopper, Dragonfly, and Centipede helped them down.

_"You!"_

Centipede took Miss Spider's hand and they danced slowly to the sweet violin music and Centipede took off his hat and like a gentleman kissed Miss Spider's hand.

"They are definitely in love," Penelope giggled and whispered to James.

"We'll always be together, won't we?" Asked James.

"Will it always be forever and always?" Penelope asked.

"Kid, you're stuck with us for life," Centipede took off his hat and placed it on James's head, he smiled at Penelope, "You too, little bird."

"Even you Jaelle," Dragonfly stroked Jaelle and she smiled.

A foghorn startled them and everyone looked over the side and saw the most beautiful sight. There were bright lights, Penelope felt her heart beat faster, it's New York City!

"Look everybody!" Cried James, "We made it!"

"This is it!" Penelope cried out and was filled with ecstasy as she saw the city with her very own eyes.

"We did?" Asked Centipede.

"Yes Centipede," Jaelle smiled. "We did make it!"

"New York City!" Miss Spider cried.

"Breathtaking!" Mr. Grasshopper exclaimed.

"Extraordinary!" Dragonfly cried.

"Stunning!" Earthworm cried.

"Glorious," said Mrs. Ladybug.

"Look at the park," said James as he pointed downwards.

"It's so beautiful!" Penelope cried with her heart filled with joy.

"It's fabulous!" said Centipede.

"Splendid!" Jaelle cried.

"We have made it!" said Miss Spider as she hugged Penelope, Jaelle, and Mrs. Ladybug, and tears came out of their eyes.

"What a wonderful sight!" Mrs. Ladybug cried with tears of joy.

"There's Lady Liberty!" Glowworm pointed to the Statue of Liberty holding a bright torch.

"I can almost smell that lovely dirt." Earthworm sniffed something familiar to him and grinned"

James and Penelope both gasped as they saw the tallest building in the world.

"The Empire State Building!" the boy cried out as he pointed at it.

"Oh my! It's so beautiful and very tall!" the gypsy girl cried.

"I never expected it to be big!" Jaelle cried.

"See those lights!" Centipede chuckled and he grabbed Mr. Grasshopper's arm and spun him around startling the elderly incest. "Wa-hoo! Yipee!" Atta boy and girl, Jimmy and Penny!" Centipede cheered for them.

"Good show James, Penelope and Jaelle! The city awaits us!" Mr. Grasshopper said feeling proud of them.

Miss Spider walked over to the children and goat and took off Centipede's hat and handed it over to Centipede.

"Now remember James and Penelope," She said to the children as she straightened the boy's tie and shirt, while straightening the girl's skirt and shirt and hair with her hand. "First impression is very important."

"We understand," Penelope said.

All of a sudden, the wind blew harder and storm clouds were growing. James and Penelope sprinted to the stem to steer the peach to make sure they didn't get blown off course and the others tried to protect themselves from getting blown away by the wind. As James and Penelope moved the stem, the wind picked up and the compass came off of the stem and fell downwards into the ocean.

"Oh no!" James cried and he tried to get the compass back, but he didn't grab it in time.

"The compass!" Penelope cried.

"It's gone!" Jaelle cried.

"We'll be blown off course!" cried Mr. Grasshopper as the wind kept picking up.

"We'll wind up in Jersey!" cried Centipede.

"Or the Arctic!" Dragonfly cried.

Lightning flashed and they heard a roar, everyone turned around and saw the cloud and glowing yellow eyes appeared. Penelope's heart dropped like a rock to the pit of her stomach. Her spine was frozen solid.

"Could it be?" Asked Mr. Grasshopper as he stared at the cloud in shock.

"Is that the…?" Dragonfly muttered in fright.

"No, it couldn't be," Centipede said filled with fright.

The figure with the yellow eyes roared loudly.

"It's the rhino!" James and Penelope cried at the same time.

"You!" Jaelle bleated in anger.

The rhino charged at them. James and Penelope looked at each other and they both knew that this time they have to help their friends avoid their fate with the rhino after what happened to James's mother and father and it's time to face their worst fear right now.

"Oh James! Oh Penelope! Do something!" cried Mrs. Ladybug trembling with fear.

"Everyone climb up into the rigging!" cried James. "Hurry!"

"Go! You'll be safer up there!" Penelope cried to them.

The others climbed onto the stings the seagulls were attached to and hung on for dear life. The others were scared when James, Penelope, and Jaelle both ran down on the fence pathway.

"James! Penelope! Jaelle!" Miss Spider called. "Are you not coming with us?"

"No!" James called to Miss Spider.

"Go on without us, we'll deal with him." Penelope called to Miss Spider as they ran down the fence pathway to stand up to the rhino.

"We might as well, give that thing a piece of our mind." Jaelle said.

"It got my mum and dad! It won't get our friends!" James, Penelope, and Jaelle reached the fence pathway and they both glared at the Rhino.

"Come out and show your face, you stupid beast!" James shouted.

"Show yourself you hideous monster!" Penelope snapped at the Rhino.

"Show yourself you ass!" Jaelle yelled.

The rhino roared angrily and charged out of the storm clouds. The bugs stared at the beast as lighting flashed from his horn.

"Good God Almighty!" Mr. Grasshopper cried as he stared at the monster in horror.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Dragonfly yelled.

The rhino kept charging towards them and the children both cowered in fear.

"Remember what your parents said James and Penelope!" They heard Earthworm and looked up. "Try looking at it another way!"

Earthworm was right, they thought for a moment and turned back to the rhino.

"You're not even a real rhino!" James yelled. "You're just at lot of smoke and noise!"

"You are nothing at all!" Penelope yelled at him.

The rhino got so angry, he growled at them and got closer.

"I'm not afraid of you!" James yelled out to the rhino with courage.

"I am not afraid of you also!" Penelope yelled at him.

"_We're_ not afraid of you!" James, Penelope, and Jaelle yelled at him.

The rhino was ready to snap and he got nearer to them.

"We're not afraid of you!" they screamed at him one last time for the first time in forever.

Now the rhino lost his temper and he charged towards them and he shot lightning from his horn and shocked the fence pathway the children and goat were standing on and flashed the strings the bugs were on with the seagulls. The others watched James, Penelope, and Jaelle fall inside the peach as it fell towards the ground.

"JAMES! PENELOPE! JAELLE!"

James, Penelope, and Jaelle fell into the peach stone and James's tie and travel book flew away from him and Penelope's pouch and dagger flew away as they kept falling.

"NOOOO!"

Then there was a thud!


	15. New York City and A New Life

Penelope came back to herself and noticed flashing red lights. She turned to James and shook him. Jaelle slowly got up back to her hooves and bleated. After James woke up they both coughed out the crocodile tongues.

"Are we dead?" Penelope asked.

"I don't think so," said James.

In a moment, they looked at each other and they were back to their real forms.

"We're human again!" cried Penelope.

"Yes, we defeated the Rhino!" said James smiling.

"Yeah, but where are the others?" Asked Penelope.

James grew concerned and he crawled through the tunnel and called out, "Miss Spider? Mr. Grasshopper? Mr. Centipede?"

"Earthworm? Mrs. Ladybug?" Penelope called. "Mr. Dragonfly? Glowworm? Where are you?"

"Hello? Is anybody there?" Called James.

James opened the peach hole. He, Penelope, and Jaelle came out and they both noticed the red light.

They found the spider silk and tied it around their waists to prevent themselves from falling and Penelope tied one strand around Jaelle's middle and they looked over the edge of the peach and saw the cars moving and honking and bright lights.

James looked into his travel book and frowned.

"This isn't right…" James said. "Where's the Empire State Building?"

"Yeah," said Penelope. "Where are we?"

* * *

It turned out that they were right on top of the Empire State Building and since the peach went, right through the antenna. Peach juice started to pour downwards.

The juice land on a lady wearing a white fur coat and she was walking her dog. A police chief was about to take a bite of an apple, and the liquid fell on him.

"What the…" the startled chief said as he looked up and saw the peach way on top of the Empire State Building and to him it looked like a round ball.

"Officer!" a little girl yelled from a window and she looked through her telescope. "There's a boy, a girl, and a goat up there!"

"What?" Asked the dumbfounded police chief. "A boy? A girl? A goat?"

He ran to the payphone and dialed a number.

"Mabel! We got us a huge unidentified object here?"

"What's it look like?" Asked Mabel.

"Round, fuzzy… it sorta looks like a giant fruit or something."

"Well… what is it?" Mabel asked filled with disbelief.

"I don't know what it is!" He yelled. "Just send us the biggest crane in New York!"

* * *

After that, the biggest crane in New York City arrived and many people surrounded the huge crane and were very curious about the large object.

A bright light flashed on James, Penelope, and Jaelle. They were both startled, while Jaelle bleated as they saw a man on a crane coming towards them.

"Please sir, how do we get to the Empire State Building?" Asked James.

"Where exactly are we?" Asked Penelope.

"You two are on top of it," he said.

"We made it!" Exclaimed James and then his face was glum. "Well only Penelope, Jaelle, and I made it."

"Our friends…" sighed Penelope. "Come on Jaelle."

Jaelle jumped in Penelope's arms and the man, at the crane helped James, Penelope, and Jaelle onto the hook. "Hang on."

As the three people and the goat were lowered down the crane also picked up the peach and lowered it onto the truck.

"Have you seen any big bugs tonight?" Asked James.

"Big bugs?" Asked the man. "How big?"

"Well… our size," said Penelope.

Police cars and fire trucks crowded the streets to know more about the peach filled with the sounds of sirens and flashing lights.

Penelope was amazed by all of New York City, but Jaelle looked down and bleated at the fear of heights.

"I hope they're all right," James said sadly.

"I hope so too James," Penelope said filled with heartache for her bug friends.

As the peach was lowered onto the truck, the man lowered James, Penelope and Jaelle down on the peach. A firefighter came up to them from a ladder.

"Don't worry you guys," he said. "You'll be all right."

Jaelle jumped up and bleated.

"Come on sonny," he said gently. "Don't be afraid. I got you guys." He gently as he wrapped his arms around James and Penelope as he slowly climbed down the ladder.

Another firefighter carried Jaelle down the ladder too, and she didn't even struggled.

"Stay away from those trucks," the chief shouted an order.

As the two firefighters lowered James, Penelope, and Jaelle down, three reporters surrounded them and asked them many questions.

"What is this thing?"

"Where are you two from?"

"Why are you two here?"

"Who?"

"What?"

"Where?"

"When?"

"Why?"

"Hold your fire, fellas!" The police chief snapped. "They're just kids for Pete's sake."

"Here I got you two," he turned to them and picked up James and placed him down. He also carried Penelope down, and he picked up Jaelle and carried her down.

"It's okay, little guy and miss." The police chief reassured us. "Nobody's gonna hurt you two."

As they hoped things would get better, a car honked and when the crowd cleared up.

A flat out car appeared and it was covered with seaweed and it was surrounded with smoke and it came towards them.

Then the doors opened and seawater poured out with seaweed and out came two women who were none other than Sponge and Spiker. Their make-up and clothes were ruined and Spiker removed some seaweed and Sponge flung away a crab from her hand.

"No!" James's brown eyes widened in fear at the sight of his aunts again, and he thought he would escape from them for good.

"Oh it's them again!" Penelope muttered as her green eyes widened. They both gasped at Spiker and Sponge. Jaelle glared at them and bleated angrily.

"Hello… little angels…" Sponge said as she snickered at them.

"So kind of you to look after our little lost lambs and goat," Spiker said as she grinned at them.

"You!" Penelope hissed and pulled out her dagger. The crowd gasped as the girl held out a dagger.

Sponge blew kisses at them and the children both made grim faces.

"Who are you?" Asked the police chief.

"We are the boy's and gypsy girl's legal guardians," Spiker said as she pulled out the papers to show that she's telling the truth.

"We missed them so much," Sponge said.

"So we'll just take them home now," said Spiker

"And the peach, of course," Sponge said. "We're taking that as well."

"Well, wait a minute. Back up," the confused police chief said. "You mean to tell me that this thing is a peach?"

"It's not a peach," Spiker snapped. "It's our peach."

"Our peach," agreed Sponge.

"Show him, Spongie," said Spiker.

"Yes," Sponge said as she took out a wet picture and showed it to the chief. It showed Sponge and Spiker smiling in their clothes on the day that the giant peach grew.

_It was from that day… _James mused. _When they were making money out of it._

_How could these women be so selfish and care about themselves but us… oh how I detest them so much…_

"Looks like it's their peach, all right," said the police chief smiling.

"Yes! Yes!" Spiker said happily. "We're very proud of it."

"We're going to be in the record books," Sponge said grinning.

"It's not their peach," James spoke up. "The old man gave the green things to me and Penelope. That's what made it grow."

"How dare you disagree with us?" Sponge said angrily.

"James has the right to disagree," Penelope snapped. "Even I have the right to disagree as well!"

Jaelle charged at Sponge and hit her in the gut and she kicked Spiker's knees and she toppled over.

"Ow," Sponge clenched her gut. "You naughty beast!"

Before Sponge could lose her temper, and get her hands on Jaelle. Spiker grabbed her arm.

"Patience sister. Remember his… condition. And the gypsy girl's condition, along with the goat's temper."

"Their condition?" Asked the Chief.

"They're chronic liars," Sponge said. "And the goat has a temper."

James, Penelope, and Jaelle glared at Sponge and Spiker for being big far liars.

"Sad, really," said Spiker. "They need their treatment."

"Well, that's why we're here," said Sponge. "To bring him and her home. So you come with us, eh lovies?"

As they come towards them, James, Penelope, and Jaelle ran to the police chief.

"James, Jaelle, come on!" Penelope pulled out a magic ball from her shirt. She threw it down on the ground hard and created a poof. When the dust cleared, they were gone.

Everyone gasped as they disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" the Chief asked.

"That witch and her witchcraft," Spiker muttered in anger.

"Up here," a girl's voice called. She, James, and Jaelle were at the very top of the truck. The people gasped seeing them up their in shock.

"We're not the one's who're lying, they are!" James said to everyone.

"We don't trust them one bit," Penelope snapped as she crossed her arms. "They're such fools to lie."

Jaelle blew a raspberry at them.

"As you can see, officer..." Spiker tried to control her temper. "It is urgent that release them to us immediately."

"Let the boy and the young girl speak!" a voice shouted from the crowd as the crowd agreed with him.

This encouraged James, Penelope, and Jaelle.

"All right, all right, all right!" the chief yelled. "Let's get to the bottom of this. This thing is a peach. All right, I'll buy that. Now… does somebody wanna tell me how it got here?"

"We attached it to a hundred seagulls," said James.

"Seagulls?" Snickered Spiker.

The crowd started to laugh.

"Justice!" Penelope snapped. "It is very true and my goat can talk! Come on Jaelle speak!"

Jaelle only bleated causing the audience to laugh harder.

"That's what happened!" James said. "Me and Miss Spider, and the Centipede, and the Old Green Grasshopper…"

"Mrs. Ladybug, Earthworm, Dragonfly, and Glowworm, they were our family." Penelope said.

"I think they've gone mad!" Spiker said and the crowd laughed more.

"Oh shut up you miserable earthworms!" Penelope snapped causing the crowd to gasp. "So shut your stupid goddamn traps and listen to us."

"This is all something both of you have dreamed up," said Spiker.

"Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream," James said. "But doesn't everything? Those building, these lights, this whole city!"

"Exactly," Penelope said.

Jaelle bleated and nodded in agreement.

"Somebody had to dream about it first, and maybe that's what Penelope, Jaelle, and I did. We dreamed about coming here, but then we did it!"

"The poor boy needs his medicine," sighed Spiker.

"So we'll just take them…" Sponge said.

"And the peach," Spiker said. "Back to our cozy little house on the hill."

She turned to us and smiled as she tried to grab them, "Come along. You three are going home with us."

"No we're not!" James snarled as he had enough of his aunts.

"Never!" Penelope snapped at them as she too had enough of them.

Spiker glared as her skin cracked, "What did both of you say?"

"I said never!" Penelope snapped. "You will not take us!"

"I said… no… we're… not!" James yelled. "We hate that house and that cold room and we were always hungry!"

"And how cruel you witches were…" Penelope said to them.

"All right, that's enough!" Spiker interrupted and she was ready to blow up.

"And how you beat us!" James yelled and everyone gasped.

"They're lying!" cried Sponge.

"And told us we were nothing!" snapped James.

"Shut up! Shut up!" the aunts yelled.

"No!" Penelope snapped. "You're the ones who need to shut up! Idiots!"

"No! Not this time!" James. "My sister, pet goat, and I flew the giant peach across the ocean! We landed on top of the tallest building in the world! WE made it! Penelope, Jaelle and I are not the ones who are nothing, YOU are! And we are never going with you! Not me, not Penelope, not Jaelle, nor the peach!"

"Y-y-y-you witches!" Jaelle spoke up. The crowd gasped.

"The goat talks!" a voice said.

"Jaelle!" Penelope exclaimed. "You're talking again!"

"That's right!" Jaelle glared at the aunts. "We hate you so much that I wish I can buck to all the way to the end of the world. You are such a disgrace to gypsies and to Penelope!" Jaelle gave a bow. "It appears we named the wrong liars, the only liars we see are you!" Jaelle blew out another raspberry. "I also saw you slipped that poison into Aladdin and Charity's drinks and poisoned them! You killed them! You will bbbbeeee bbbring up to justice!"

The color drained from Sponge and Spiker's faces and were filled with horror

"How… how did you know?" they asked.

"I was in the closet resting, while my mistress and her family were out and I woke up and from the crack, I saw you two slip the arsenic their drinks. I tried to get out, but you locked me in. Then Aladdin and Charity came in and I tried to warn them, but they drank them and died. You are murderers and racists to the Romani!"

"And there is something I should have done to you two a long time ago," Penelope said. She aimed herself towards Sponge and she spit out her saliva and it landed on Sponge's forehead.

She turned to Spiker and spit out more saliva and it landed onto Spiker's face. This caused the whole crowd to gasp.

"What was that for gypsy?" Sponge cried in disgust as she flung the saliva away.

Penelope felt energy in her heart explode as she finally had the courage to stand up to Sponge and Spiker once and for all.

"Just five years ago you visited the Trotters and you were disgusted by my family and the way gypsies live," Penelope yelled. "Ever since you got robbed by those gypsies in Rome, you never forgave them for what they did. You never appreciated James' parents for helping Gypsies and people in need! They even harbored my family and other gypsies during the depression and Second World War! Then Papa fore told that you and fatty that you will spend the rest of your lives in prison on how you two raised us and beat us to death."

"You Spiker pulled your hand away and you punched Papa in the nose." The whole crowd gasped.

"Mama got so angry and she pushed you back and you Sponge then turned Mama back around and twisted her arm and broke it. I walked up to you two and yelled, 'How dare you two idiots hit my parents!' Then you Spiker raised you hand to slap me and Mrs. Trotter got in front of me and got slapped instead of me and you two yelled at my family, You gypsies are nothing but filthy rats and are such a disgrace to our sister's family!" The whole crowd, were in such shock.

Penelope never felt so angry and she raised her voice as she un-bottled all her emotions.

"And then Mr. and Mrs. Trotter ordered you two to leave or they will call the cops. Before you two left, my parents cursed you two that the bad things you do will haunt you forever!"

"It appears we named the wrong filthy rats," Penelope mocked as she gave a little bow. "The only filthy rats and stupid idiots I see, is you! I always want to slash you in the face with my dagger! You two are an insult and a disgrace to my family and my people, the gypsies. You are also demons from Hell, what you said about my family and my people, is a big fat lie! You two are nothing but monsters! Real true monsters! You killed my parents! God always says that the Wicked shall not go unpunished! I can see that someday in punishment for killing my parents and being selfish! Your souls will rot in Hell! _Vous chiennes __stupide_ (you stupid bitches)!"

Spiker suddenly snapped when James, Penelope, and Jaelle revealed the truth. And worse, Penelope insulted them!

"How dare you brats speak to us this way?" She and Sponge grabbed two axes from the fire truck and immediately, Penelope jumped to the top of the truck and she pulled James and Jaelle up. She hid them behind her back as she held out her arms to protect him and Jaelle.

Sponge swung her axe and got it stuck in the front, and Spiker slammed her axe in the window and the chief got so scared that he blew the whistle to stop them and the people tried to grab the aunts, but the firemen kept them back and they realized that they were telling the truth.

As Penelope blocked James, they heard a familiar voice from above, "James! Penelope! Jaelle! Up here!"

The crowd looked up and gasped what they saw up in the sky. A green light glowed in the sky and they heard the voices.

"Hello we're here!" Glowworm called.

"Hey buddies!" Centipede called.

"H'llo laddie and lassie!" it was Dragonfly.

Sponge and Spiker stared at the sky and wondered whom did those voices belong to.

"What are they?" Asked Sponge.

Only James, Penelope, and Jaelle recognized the voices and their eyes light up as they saw their bug friends coming down and they were hanging onto Miss Spider's strings with the seagulls.

"Young James! Darling Penelope!" Called Glowworm. "Little Jaelle!"

"Hey Jimmy! Hey Penny!" Called Centipede as he waved to them.

" 'allo Jaelle!" Dragonfly waved his beret too.

"Centipede!" Jaelle cried as she jumped up. "Dragonfly!"

"Bugs!" Screamed Spiker.

"Need a little help down there?" Called Centipede.

"Giant bugs!" Screamed Sponge.

"Hey you old biddies!" Centipede yelled as he suck out his tongue and made a raspberry sound.

"Help us!" the aunts screamed as they hugged each other.

"Whoo-ee! Here we are, dears!" Called Mrs. Ladybug.

"Hello James!" Called Earthworm. "Hello Penelope and Jaelle!"

"We'll be down soon!" Dragonfly called.

"We told you they we real!" James said smiling.

"Now do you believe us?" Penelope asked the crowd smiling.

The crowd finally believed the children as they saw the bugs coming down.

"Hello old boy and my fair child!" called Mr. Grasshopper. "Young goat!"

"Requesting clearance to land!" said Miss Spider.

The bugs landed on the peach and they released the strings and the seagulls flew away freely. The crowd watched the giant bugs in shock and Sponge and Spiker stared at them too in shock.

"Miss Spider," James yelled to Miss Spider. "Throw me a string!"

Miss Spider took out some string and tossed it to James and Penelope and caught it immediately.

They both grinned and James threw the string around Sponge and Spiker. They both screamed.

"Okay, pull them up!" Yelled James.

"Let 'er roll!" Jaelle called.

The bugs nodded and pulled Sponge and Spiker up until they meet the bugs face to face.

"Help!" Yelled Aunt Sponge. "Where are we going?"

"To teach you a lesson!" Penelope said as she laughed. "For your own punishment."

As they got right in front of our friends, James yelled to he bugs.

"Spin them around!"

Mr. Grasshopper, who was closer to the aunts, lied on his back and used his legs and kicked them hard.

"You little…" Spiker shouted as she and Sponge started to spin around faster.

"Keep on with the spinning Mr. Grasshopper!" Penelope called to him.

"Faster and faster!" Jaelle jumped up and down.

Miss Spider tossed the string and threw it around Sponge and Spiker and they spinning increased that Sponge and Spiker's hair fell off of their heads. It turned out they were wigs after all.

"Tighter! Tighter!" James and Penelope yelled as the bugs did what the children told them.

Finally the aunts were covered up in the string just like they were wrapped in a cocoon.

"One more t'ing," Dragonfly flew over and let out a few punches on the aunts as if they were punching bags.

"Well I'll be a…" the Chief said. "The kids were tellin' the truth." he then called out, "Get those two creeps outta here!"

The crane drove Spiker and Sponge away to prison as they screamed and were still wrapped up.

James, Penelope, and Jaelle climbed the ladder and heard the crowd cheering.

Many reporters ran to the phone booths and called the presses.

"Stop the presses. I got a new front page. 'Big Bugs In The Big Apple'!"

"In big bold print, 'Little Lindies Fly Giant Peach'."

"'Half-Pint Heroes and Their Peach Pit Pals'."

James and Penelope smiled at the crowd and were ready to introduce their friends.

"Everyone! These are our friends!" James called out. "The ones we've been telling you about. Mr. Centipede!"

The spotlight shone on him and he waved happily.

"Hi!" He climbed down the ladder.

"Old Green Grasshopper."

The spotlight shone on him.

"My pleasure," he bowed.

"Earthworm!" He did a pose as the light came on him and the crowd kept cheering.

"Mrs. Ladybug!"

"Charmed!" Mrs. Ladybug said as she showed off her wings in the spotlight.

"Mr. Dragonfly!"

" 'Allo!" Dragonfly to showed off his wings as the spotlight went on him.

"Miss Spider!" She giggled as the light came onto her.

"And the Glowworm!"

"God bless the colonies!" Called Glowworm, and Miss Spider turned her to the right direction.

"And this other girl with me, is my older sister and gypsy dancer, Penelope!" As James pointed at her, she took out her tambourine and shook it and hit it and smiled and the crowd cheered for her.

"And this is the dancing goat Jaelle!"

"Oui," Jaelle bleated and hopped around as the crowd cheered.

"Could we eat some of your peach? Asked a boy from the crowd.

"It won't keep forever," Centipede said as he grinned at James and Penelope.

"Go ahead!" Said James.

Many kids in New York City gathered around the peach and started to eat it.

People threw confetti out of the windows as everyone cheered.

"Hey! What was your name?" A boy shouted out to James.

"It's James!"

"Why don't I do a performance?" Penelope asked the crowd. The crowd cheered. Penelope sprinted to a stage and began her performance. She danced on the stage and pulled out a scarf. She spun around and shook her tambourine.

She leapt across and she wrapped a scarf around a man and flirted with him. She kissed his nose and pulled his hat down. The man blushed in embarrassment and gave a small smile. The girl spun around and did a front flip. She then did a full split and gave the crowd a wink.

She then grabbed a pole and dug it in the stage and swung herself around causing the audience to scream widely. She wrapped her leg around it, and leaned back and stopped. She then looked at the crowd with a grin and nodded.

James, Jaelle, the bugs, and the crowd cheered widely for her.

"I'm finally free," she said.

* * *

_They ate that peach all the way down to the pit and set it up in Central Park as a permanent home. And James Henry Trotter and Penelope Esmeralda Trotter, who were once the saddest and loneliest little boy and young girl you could find now had a loving family new family and all the friends in the world._

James and Penelope are sitting on two stools telling a group of children their story.

James is wearing a yellow shirt, a light blue vest, tan pants, tan socks and black shoes and Penelope is wearing a maroon dress with amethyst studded earrings and black high heels is reading a palm of a young girl. Jaelle was being petted by one of the children.

Miss Spider opened the door wearing a chef's hat and an apron.

"James, Penelope, dinner is ready," she said.

The children waved to Miss Spider.

"All right. Nearly finished," said James.

"We'll be there soon Miss Spider," said Penelope.

Miss Spider smiled and closed the door and James kept telling his story.

"And… and then…" James said. "And then the seagulls…"

_And since James's and Penelope's visitors begged them again and again… to hear the story of their adventure with the giant peach, they wished for a way to share it with everyone. And that is exactly what you just read._

The old man was none other than the narrator, he caught the three crocodile tongues and put them back in his pouch. He then smiled and winked at the audience and his eye turned into a moon.

* * *

**The End!**


End file.
